British Asians and Football

Culture, Identity, Exclusion

Daniel Burdsey

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781134158584
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Ethnic Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

In spite of a great passion in the game and significant involvement at amateur level, British Asians are under-represented in professional football. This book asks how and why this situation has developed, using extensive interviews with British Asian football players to offer an insider's assessment of the difficulties and conflicting demands faced every day. In addition, the book also critically examines the work of the anti-racist football movement, questioning the strategies and policies designed to eradicate racism and asking whether other approaches might be more effective or reflective of the views of the players themselves.

Ideal for academics and students of the sociology of ethnicity, sport, youth studies or cultural studies, this innovative book will also be of interest to professionals in the field of equal opportunities.

1 Introduction

Kick-off

On Saturday 5 April 2003, the scoresheet for the Nationwide Division One match between Burnley and Watford included an unfamiliar name: Chopra. In fact it was listed not once, but four times. Michael Chopra, a nineteen-year-old striker, had achieved the remarkable feat of scoring four goals in a single match as his team romped to a high-scoring victory over their Lancastrian opponents. The reason why Chopra was unknown to the footballing public at large was because he had only made his professional debut a week previously, having been loaned to Watford by Newcastle United to gain match experience. Yet the most unusual thing about this game was the sight of a South Asian surname on an English professional football teamsheet. Chopra’s mother, Sharon, is white, but his father, Minty, is Indian. With only a handful of players of South Asian background having ever played professional football in England, he is thus an extremely rare commodity.

Since his goalscoring feat, Chopra – who, following a spell back at Newcastle United and periods on-loan at Nottingham Forest and Barnsley, now plays for Cardiff City – has been joined in the professional ranks by a handful of other British Asians: Zesh Rehman – whose brother Rizwan narrowly missed out on joining him in the game – plays for Fulham, and has also enjoyed loan spells with both Norwich City and Brighton and Hove Albion; Adnan Ahmed has begun to make his mark at Huddersfield Town; Harpal Singh has spent periods at Leeds United, Bury, Bradford City, Bristol City and Stockport County; and Shahed Ahmed has made a handful of appearances for Wycombe Wanderers. Although these British Asians are not the first to play professional football in England, they are the first to make a significant breakthrough for the best part of two decades. However, whilst their presence is hugely encouraging, the tendency for their clubs to loan them to lower division sides reflects the fact that none of them has become a household name. One must, therefore, be extremely careful not to overstate the wider repercussions of this breakthrough or to paint an overly benign picture of increasing inclusion of British Asians in the professional game. In short, these players are the exceptions to the rule. British Asians remain heavily under-represented in the game in proportion to their numbers in the overall population and there is much more that needs to be done to overcome their exclusion.

About the book

This book is about Michael, Zesh, Adnan, Harpal and Shahed. It is also about those British Asian players who have had fleeting periods at professional clubs without ever quite making the grade (such as Anwar Uddin who, after captaining West Ham United to FA Youth Cup success in the late 1990s, had brief spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers before joining semi-professional side Dagenham and Redbridge) and those youngsters currently registered at academies or centres of excellence with dreams of making the final, and most significant, stage of progression. It is about their participation and experiences, their aspirations and desires, the issues and problems that they encounter, and their feelings of inclusion and exclusion as British Asian footballers in an occupational culture in which they have traditionally been regarded as ‘outsiders’. Some of these players tell parts of their stories here. They are not, however, the only characters in the tale. They may be the most well-known, but the supporting cast runs into tens of thousands. The other players will be completely unknown to the majority of readers for they are not professional footballers. Their faces are not seen on television, and their names are not printed in matchday programmes, club websites and newspapers, or heard on the radio. Those who speak within the pages of this book are, for example, businessmen, students, call-centre workers, landlords, football coaches, sports administrators, civil servants, caterers, waiters and taxidrivers. Their common denominator is a passion for football that dominates their leisure time, in their capacities as players, coaches, referees, and/or in other offfield administrative roles that are intrinsic to the existence of amateur clubs and competitions. These players have never played and will never play professionally although, as this book suggests, for some it was not due to a lack of talent.

This book, therefore, is comprised of two main threads of narrative: one from those (contingently) inside the professional game and one from those outside. Despite the vicissitudes of their footballing careers, many of the players come from similar backgrounds, some even from the same specific local communities. For others, the only thing they have in common is a mutual – yet vague and nebulous – status of ‘Asianness’. Combining these two threads of narrative and elucidating the similarities, differences, complexities and nuances both within and between them, this book sheds light on the factors that have conspired historically and contemporarily to exclude British Asians from English professional football. Accordingly, the analysis seeks to overcome the poverty of knowledge about the involvement of young British Asian men in English football; to investigate the discrepancies between amateur and professional levels of participation, and the factors that contribute to exclusion from this latter sphere; and to analyse the specific relationship between constructions and articulations of British ‘Asianness’ and the cultures of football. In this sense it is a book about football and a book about young British Asian men.

The subtitle of the book is Culture, Identity, Exclusion – concepts that help to explain the relationship between British Asians and professional football; moreover, concepts that contribute to the fact that despite their passion for the game and considerable involvement at amateur level, British Asians are significantly under-represented as professional footballers in proportion to their numbers in the overall population. As the last (2001) census recorded, out of a total population of just under 59 million people in Britain, there are 1,053,411 Indians, 747,285 Pakistanis and 283,063 Bangladeshis. A government agency or painstaking period of research is not needed to calculate the number currently playing professional football; they can be counted on a single hand.

Werbner (2005: 747) argues that within the social sciences ‘culture has come increasingly to be seen as a concept that essentialises, reifies, stereotypes, orientalises, racialises, Others, exoticises and distorts the subjects of anthropological research’. As this book demonstrates, this approach to minority ethnic groups, especially British Asians, is also widely evident in English football and the associated institutions that represent it, such as the media. This book aims to challenge this state of affairs by illustrating the heterogeneity of British Asian communities and cultures, and the myriad ways that they approach and interact with professional football. The analysis progresses from the belief that culture is a process: something that is dynamic, mobile, unfinished, both enabling and restricting, fluctuating throughout time and space, and does not exist or operate outside the individuals that construct and are shaped by it. As Stuart Hall (1992a: 225) states, ‘cultural identity . . . is a matter of “becoming” as well as of “being” . . . cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But like everything that is historical they undergo constant transformation . . . subject to the continuous “play” of history, culture and power’. Furthermore, following Gilroy (1992), the idea that cultures are hermetically sealed units, experientially unique and mutually impermeable, is likewise rejected. Cultures are part of social fields of interaction and are not the property or possession of particular groups (Alexander 2005: 206). In terms of English football, again, it is incorrect to talk of a dominant culture in the singular. Yet at professional level, in particular, there are certain patterns of norms, values and attitudes that form a cohesive set of dominant structures, activities, behaviours and networks which reflect and promote the interests of some groups, yet marginalize and discriminate against others.

Identity refers to the way that the politics of identity and representation are constructed, contested and articulated by British Asian players in relation to football. On one hand it is about the importance of the game in reflecting ethnic, national, diasporic and hybrid identities. On the other it refers to the implications or outcomes that arise when these identities come into contact with those that are dominant, and are inexorably related to boundaries of inclusion/exclusion, in the professional game: opposition, conflict, co-existence, assimilation, manipulation, resistance. The central paradox is that the game of football is a key social arena for intercultural dialogue and exchange, and an arena for British Asians to articulate their identities, but it is also a social space in which these identities are met with some of the most severe forms of discrimination and examples of contemporary racisms. In this sense ‘identities become open ended, unpredictable and often ambiguous in the ways they appear and are lived through’ (Alexander 2006: 269).

The concept of Exclusion refers to both a state and a process. The current situation with regard to British Asians in professional football can be described as one of exclusion – a term that characterizes the processes, structures and attitudes that have denied, and continue to deny them the opportunity to participate at elite level. Exclusion operates in overt ways through acts of blatant racism and the reproduction of racial stereotypes, but also in much more subtle, complex and less ‘visible’, yet equally ingrained, ways by influencing who are ‘insiders’ and who are ‘outsiders’, what is ‘normal’ or ‘traditional’, what are regarded as desired cultural traits, and how one becomes involved in the professional game. With this in mind, this book argues for shifting the analysis away from seeing British Asian communities as the problem, as is often purported in dominant discourses, to examining how football’s clubs and institutions construct and maintain racial inequality and disadvantage.

To summarize the central argument in this book: whilst a handful of British Asian players have broken into the game and there is a gradually increasing presence of British Asian supporters on the terraces and in the stands of the nation’s stadia, this is not sufficient. The job is not done, the game is not won. As the Asians Can Play Football report, the most recent analysis of this topic, states:

It might feel like the game is changing, and initiatives in the sport may be multiplying, but all the evidence confirms that change in behaviour at the highest levels of the game still lags lamentably behind any real change in attitude or in stated policy. We have had nine years of ‘change’ in the game since [the] Asians Can’t Play Football [report] but are things really that different?

(Asians in Football Forum 2005: 6)

Although the need for change is recognized, at least publicly, by an increasing number of agencies, the problem lies in the fact that despite the rhetoric espoused, and the promises made, by professional clubs, governing bodies and anti-racist football organizations, these are generally not being reflected in the construction and implementation of appropriate policies. The intransigence and resistance that traditionally has met demands for these institutions to work more proactively towards overcoming the exclusion of British Asians from the professional game may have begun to slowly erode, but an equally problematic state of affairs may be occurring: one of complacency. For example, a British Asian player interviewed for this book described an exchange with a prominent and well-known member of the anti-racist football movement: ‘We went to a conference the other week and [he] was asked a question on why there are no Asian footballers. He turned round and said, “Oh, it’s a boring subject”. Not the answer I would be looking for’ (interview with British Indian amateur player, 27 June 2002).

The existence of such attitudes has contributed to what, according to the subtitle of the Asians Can Play Football report, might be seen as ‘a wasted decade’ in attempts to overcome the exclusion of British Asians from professional football. This lack of action is not universal though and the last ten years have certainly not been wasted by British Asian players and clubs, as this book and the aforementioned report demonstrate. Yet the same could be said about every decade since the 1960s as British Asian football clubs have built a thriving football scene despite little recognition, intervention or assistance from the professional game, county associations or local leagues. The current state of affairs is one where, whilst some of the relevant issues and problems have been acknowledged, little concrete action has been implemented to deal with or remedy them. It is this factor that represents, at the very least, wastage, but arguably also widespread institutional failures.

Those looking for an unequivocal answer or a magic solution will not find it here. One book cannot provide a universal resolution to such an inveterate problem and, like football, academe is a game of opinions. Nonetheless, it is hoped that this book will challenge some of the orthodoxies that characterize dominant explanations of the relationship between British Asians and professional football and, in this regard, will contribute to identifying the solutions (in plural) that are required to overcome the exclusion of these players.

The fieldwork

This book stems from doctoral research undertaken between 2000 and 2004. The investigation involved a process of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork based around interviews and observations with British Asian footballers. Interviews were undertaken with four main groups: professional, ex-professional and semi-professional players; amateur players; members of anti-racist football organizations; and staff from the academies/centres of excellence – special development centres designed to coach and train talented players aged between seven and nineteen – at English professional football clubs. The interviews were often lengthy affairs, generating large amounts of rich empirical data. These exchanges created strong bonds between me and the players, resembling more what Burgess (1984: 102) labels a ‘conversation with a purpose’, and were often supplemented by ad hoc contributions from interested and enthusiastic team-mates, friends or family members who were in attendance.

Interviews only provide a partial representation – a snapshot – of the lives and identities of the players in the study, and so the data generated by this method were complemented by a series of observations. These were undertaken with four British Asian clubs: a predominantly Punjabi Sikh team in Greater London, two Bangladeshi Muslim teams in Inner London and one Pakistani Muslim club in Inner London. Observations were not strictly of the participant variety as, despite frequent invitations, my own limitations in ability and fitness meant that I turned down the chance to don my kit and boots. Instead, observations involved watching matches with supporters, and interacting with players, coaches and club members before and after games and training sessions. These occasions provided the opportunity to watch, listen, enjoy stories, share in the joys and sorrows of a game, and recognize the special exchanges and rituals intrinsic to football. At some clubs, ‘access all areas’ was permitted on matchdays, enabling close-hand involvement in the complete match experience. This provided not only the chance to mix with players, but also to witness their interactions and dialogues – footballing banter and conversations about their social lives – thus delineating the context and ways in which British Asian footballers articulate and construct their identities in relation to the game.

Matches also provided the opportunity to meet other key club members, especially those with off-field responsibilities, and members of British Asian football federations; to observe the interaction between British Asian players and white or African-Caribbean teams; and to gauge the attitudes and behaviours of referees, opposing teams and visiting supporters. Invitations were also gratefully accepted to important social occasions, for example, the chance to participate in a ceremony at one club’s local gurdwara (Sikh temple) to honour the birthday of Guru Nanak, the founding father of Sikhism. This involved presenting the trophies that the club had won during the previous season to the congregation leader, and receiving a blessing and the langar¹ in return. As well as being a proud and enriching personal experience, it was a further means of contextualizing the research, in terms of how South Asian ethnicities and traditions are fused with twenty-first-century British football cultures and lifestyles. On another occasion, players were accompanied to the re-opening of a local community centre, whilst trips with players to some of east London’s finest curry emporia were especially enjoyed. Gratitude towards players for their role in the research was repaid on an informal quid pro quo basis. This ranged from helping to put up the goalposts or doing matchday chores, to assisting in other activities, such as giving players lifts to matches or taking family members to football training. Further observations were carried out during two matches featuring the Indian national team, against Fulham at Craven Cottage in July 2000 and against Brentford at Griffin Park in July 2001. The objective of attending these matches was to gauge ‘mainstream’ supporter reactions to, and interpretations of, participation by South Asians in football. The research has also been informed and influenced by my involvement (between 1998 and 1999) in the inaugural steering group for the Foxes Against Racism initiative at Leicester City Football Club.

Voices, epistemologies and Critical Race Theory

I think what we sometimes resent, perhaps more than anything else, is people who become patronizing in saying to Asians, ‘Well, you don’t actually know what your needs are, we need to articulate your needs for you’.

(Interview with British Indian amateur player, 23 April 2002)

Traditionally, the authoritative voice, i.e. the ‘knower’, within discourses of ‘race’, ethnicity and sport has been the white (male) academic, policy maker or anti-racist activist. Specifically, whilst football is the most researched and written about sport in Britain, British Asian players systematically have been excluded from contributing to analyses of the game. Their accounts of their exclusion from professional football have not been listened to or integrated into official reports or publications. Consequently, a key objective of this book is to overcome the ‘silencing’ of these players. Their experiences, attitudes, opinions, aspirations, accounts and stories are crucial to the generation of knowledge about ‘Asianness’ and football, and to understanding the reasons for their absence from the professional game. Therefore it is vital to position them as ‘knowers’. As Bryman argues, ‘The most fundamental characteristic of qualitative research is its express commitment to viewing events, actions, norms, values . . . from the perspective of the people who are being studied’ (cited in Prior 1997: 64). Similarly, Young Jr points out that:

Researchers must always acknowledge and assert the cultural complexity of the people whom they study, and they must strive to capture and represent the voices of these people to their best ability, given that they are the ultimate creators of the statements being made about them.

(2004: 200)

This book also seeks to contribute towards an understanding of contemporary manifestations of ‘Asianness’ and the manner in which the identities and lifestyles of young British Asian men are articulated in the early twenty-first century. Therefore, it centralizes the use of oral testimonies and life stories, and attributes high status to the accounts provided by British Asian players themselves. Listening to their stories is crucial to challenging solipsistic and ethnocentric ways of seeing the world (Delgado 1989).

In his powerful ethnography of magazine vendors, scavengers and panhandlers in New York’s Greenwich Village, Duneier (1999: 352) makes the point that, ‘as an upper-middle-class white male academic writing about poor black men and women, who are some of the most disadvantaged and stigmatized members of my own society, I have documented lives very different from my own’. This book is written from a similar standpoint: as a white middle-class academic writing about British Asian footballers, many of whom come from the lower socio-economic strata, I am writing about players from backgrounds very different from my own. The players experience forms of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion that I do not. This is a distinction that cannot be ignored for, as Andersen (1993: 41) points out, ‘The problems of doing research within minority communities are compounded by the social distance imposed by class relations when interviewers are white and middle-class and those being interviewed are not’. However, Back (1996: 24) rightly argues that, ‘although it is profoundly true that whites cannot fully comprehend the experiential consequences of racism, we do experience the transmission of racist ideas and formulae’.

In terms of the research process itself, debates have existed for a considerable time about the correlation between a researcher’s ethnicity and insider/outsider status (for further discussion on this in relation to this study see Burdsey 2005b). However, not only is the insider/outsider dichotomy much more fluid and contingent than has often been recognized, but also it is premised on a series of problematic assumptions. For example, as Alexander argues:

The ideology of ‘race matching’ in research pivots on the assumption that ‘native’ researchers occupy an innate ‘i...