Search: ' Zesh Rehman'

Zesh Rehman has been praised for his work in the Asian community but not on the pitch. Jason McKeown explains

Saturday March 7, 2009, Bradford City are thrashing Aldershot Town 5-0 to climb into fourth place in League Two. Around Valley Parade there are Mexican waves, but in quieter moments a pocket of dissenting home fans can be heard protesting their displeasure. “We want Zesh!” is their loud, high-pitched cry. These were no regular supporters but children from local schools, predominantly Asian. And their vocal disapproval, aired during Bradford’s biggest win for 11 years, was due to the benching of Pakistan international centre-back Zesh Rehman.

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Asian players are still thin on the ground in English football. There are some good prospects but, believes Gavin Willacy, the round-ball game should look at the success of rugby league in this area

Two years ago WSC 225 focused on the Asians Can Play Football campaign. Of the four British Asians playing professionally then, Michael Chopra, the mixed-race son of an Indian grocer, is trying to prove he is a Premier League-quality striker with Sunderland, and QPR midfielder Zesh Rehman has clocked up nearly 100 appearances in the Championship. They are making a career – and a lot of money – from football. Adnan Ahmed is on the fringes at Tranmere and Harpal Singh – who got into Leeds’ squad but didn’t play a first-team game there – is coming to the end of an injury-ravaged season in Ireland, sitting on the bench for Bohemians. Coming into the League this season has been former West Ham trainee Anwar Uddin, after captaining Dagenham & Redbridge to the Conference title.

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The success of players such as Michael Chopra and Zesh Rehman may be an advance on the position ten years ago but, Steve Wilson writes, this is not enough and those behind a new report – Asians Can Play Football – are challenging the game to reform

On the day in September when Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, warned that “we are sleepwalking our way into segregation” and Home Secretary Charles Clarke outlined his “commission on integration” to combat anti-Islamic feelings in the wake of the July London bombings, a group of Asian football fans were lamenting a wasted decade for the advancement of British Asian footballers and challenging the football authorities to back up good intentions with the resources and actions needed to foster genuine change.

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