Michael Owen – We need more British Asian footballers

The IPLSOCCER tournament, the UK’s first nationwide British Asian football tournament, takes place at Pride Park, Derby, on May 8.

It will feature teams from London, Derby, Birmingham and Leicester, with players selected through regional trials and networks in a bid to give British Asians a chance to showcase their talents. 

Recent data from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) reveals that there are only 115 British South Asian background players out of almost 15,000 players in academy and professional football, equating to less than half of one per cent of total professional footballers.

Scouts are being invited to the tournament from a number of professional clubs and former England striker Michael Owen is supporting the initiative.

“When I was playing football, you rarely saw any British Asians, be that at youth level or first teams.

It always struck me, going to grounds around the country, that there were a fair few fans of British Asian heritage in the stands – but not out on the pitch.

Something needs to be done to redress the balance and better reflect the significant British Asian population.

That’s where IPLSOCCER comes in.

When my good friend Sany Supra got in touch, I jumped at the chance to help.

Sport is one of the few institutions that can break down barriers and stereotypes but despite the diversity in the current England squad, no player of South Asian heritage has won a senior England cap in over 146 years.

British South Asians continue to be under-represented in professional football.

Improving those statistics and providing fully inclusive opportunities for all are at the core of the IPLSOCCER Programme.

I want to encourage more British Asians to get involved in football, not just playing but also coaching and managing.

We are living in different times to when I was playing and initiatives like this are so important.

It was only last season that Hamza Choudhury became the first British South Asian to win the FA Cup when Leicester City beat Chelsea at Wembley.

I want to see more players like Hamza break through and play regularly in the Premier League.

The event this year in Derby will see some former Premier League players taking part alongside scouted players from each of the four cities and I really hope it starts to inspire a new generation of players of British Asian heritage.

The more we can get younger British Asians playing the game, the more we can make progress and get them developing, growing and competing to play at the highest level.

The passion is there but there has not been the participation and IPLSOCCER can inspire more people to get involved.

Football is for everybody.

I want this event to be the beginning of a new era and to showcase more footballers of Asian heritage in English football.”

To find out more information and to book tickets for the inaugural IPLSOCCER tournament, please visit: https://iplsoccer.tv/