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Why are south asians under represented at the top level in football?
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It's a phenomenon that I don't understand. Even in England where south asians are in abundance there are no English players but plenty of black/mixed raced players e.g. in the England squad.
There's no actual benchmark here so I can't generalise or say where they falter. Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
Is it a lack of technical ability, a lack of physical prowess or both, since those are the characteristics needed to excel at the top level.
There's no actual benchmark here so I can't generalise or say where they falter. Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
Is it a lack of technical ability, a lack of physical prowess or both, since those are the characteristics needed to excel at the top level.
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#3
One reason would be that as a culture, they're not particularly interested in football. A child in India or Pakistan is more likely to dream of being a top cricket player than a football player. And that's also true of many South Asians who have emigrated to the West as well.
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#6
Generally not as fast and not as strong as other black or white players.
This is exacerbated by a general negligence of technical ability for speed and size in the English game.
Even if you ignore that issue, Asian parents generally do not encourage sports. Especially football.
This is exacerbated by a general negligence of technical ability for speed and size in the English game.
Even if you ignore that issue, Asian parents generally do not encourage sports. Especially football.
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#9
(Original post by tazarooni89)
One reason would be that as a culture, they're not particularly interested in football. A child in India or Pakistan is more likely to dream of being a top cricket player than a football player. And that's also true of many South Asians who have emigrated to the West as well.
One reason would be that as a culture, they're not particularly interested in football. A child in India or Pakistan is more likely to dream of being a top cricket player than a football player. And that's also true of many South Asians who have emigrated to the West as well.
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#11
(Original post by jam278)
It's a phenomenon that I don't understand. Even in England where south asians are in abundance there are no English players but plenty of black/mixed raced players e.g. in the England squad.
There's no actual benchmark here so I can't generalise or say where they falter. Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
Is it a lack of technical ability, a lack of physical prowess or both, since those are the characteristics needed to excel at the top level.
It's a phenomenon that I don't understand. Even in England where south asians are in abundance there are no English players but plenty of black/mixed raced players e.g. in the England squad.
There's no actual benchmark here so I can't generalise or say where they falter. Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
Is it a lack of technical ability, a lack of physical prowess or both, since those are the characteristics needed to excel at the top level.
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#12
(Original post by DorianGrayism)
In my experience, British born Asians are more interested in football than cricket. I know very few ppl that play more cricket regularly.
In my experience, British born Asians are more interested in football than cricket. I know very few ppl that play more cricket regularly.
The other thing is that, Asian immigration into Britain is relatively recent. The memory in living in a place like India, and seeing people dying on the streets because they haven't enough money to buy food still looms in that society. Their fear of being poor is greater than their desire to be a rich, celebrity star. As a result, in terms of career prospects most people aim for "financial safety" - that is, a very comfortable salary and job security without too much risk involved. They're less likely to think about "doing what you love and achieving your dreams", if there's a high chance that they won't make it. Medicine, Law, Engineering, Finance will tend to be the kinds of things parents push them towards, compared to Acting, Music, Sports and other "all or nothing" careers.
I would also guess that perhaps football is just something that they're not naturally good at - in the same way that black people tend to be over-represented in Olympic sprinting, because genetically, their body types are more likely to be predisposed in that manner. And as mentioned by another poster, the English game tends to rely quite a lot on physique, speed and strength. Chinese people are also unlikely to be found playing football at the top level, for example. But they'll get a tonne of medals when it comes to other Olympic sports.
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#14
(Original post by redferry)
In the least racist way possible South Asian kids that are good at sport tend to play cricket not football. Or at least that was my experience growing up in Birmingham.
In the least racist way possible South Asian kids that are good at sport tend to play cricket not football. Or at least that was my experience growing up in Birmingham.
Quite a few were into football and we'd play together as kids but even those would rather play cricket than football. Then when I went to college none of them really cared about football but were massively into cricket. to be honest I just don't think they care enough to pursue it, most are just casual Man. United/Liverpool fans, watch a couple of big matches and that's about it. Definitely more passionate about cricket. And you see plenty of British Asians playing cricket professionally so I'm not sure you can blame the fact they are under represented in football entirely on taking the academic route.
I don't buy into the idea that they lack technical ability either. I have played against a fair few with excellent technique, ball control & flair. Don't care if it's a generalisation it's just what I've noticed. Local football clubs should target Asian communities and try and get more Asians into playing professionally as imo in a footballing sense they are our possibly equivalent of the Turks in Germany or the Algerians/Arabs in France, those types of players.
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#15
(Original post by Wilfred Little)
Not racist. Exactly what I was going to say and I've played with enough of them to know.
Quite a few were into football and we'd play together as kids but even those would rather play cricket than football. Then when I went to college none of them really cared about football but were massively into cricket. to be honest I just don't think they care enough to pursue it, most are just casual Man. United/Liverpool fans, watch a couple of big matches and that's about it. Definitely more passionate about cricket. And you see plenty of British Asians playing cricket professionally so I'm not sure you can blame the fact they are under represented in football entirely on taking the academic route.
I don't buy into the idea that they lack technical ability either. I have played against a fair few with excellent technique, ball control & flair. Don't care if it's a generalisation it's just what I've noticed. Local football clubs should target Asian communities and try and get more Asians into playing professionally as imo in a footballing sense they are our possibly equivalent of the Turks in Germany or the Algerians/Arabs in France, those types of players.
Not racist. Exactly what I was going to say and I've played with enough of them to know.
Quite a few were into football and we'd play together as kids but even those would rather play cricket than football. Then when I went to college none of them really cared about football but were massively into cricket. to be honest I just don't think they care enough to pursue it, most are just casual Man. United/Liverpool fans, watch a couple of big matches and that's about it. Definitely more passionate about cricket. And you see plenty of British Asians playing cricket professionally so I'm not sure you can blame the fact they are under represented in football entirely on taking the academic route.
I don't buy into the idea that they lack technical ability either. I have played against a fair few with excellent technique, ball control & flair. Don't care if it's a generalisation it's just what I've noticed. Local football clubs should target Asian communities and try and get more Asians into playing professionally as imo in a footballing sense they are our possibly equivalent of the Turks in Germany or the Algerians/Arabs in France, those types of players.
My friends that were into football as a kid were pressured to go down the cricket route by parents...
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#17
There is no such thing as underepresentation of a certain race in a sport. The colour of a footballer doesn't matter. You remind me of the Police service for instant claiming they need more black skinned officers. Sounds like patronizing supremacist crap to me. Multiculturalism, the new order of a master people.
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#19
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#20
(Original post by Ggmu!)
I don't know why there isn't even one... That seems a bit strange.
I don't know why there isn't even one... That seems a bit strange.
I hope we can be the first to field a successful British Asian player who goes on to represent our national team.
I'll definitely Singh when they're #winning.
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