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London (AFP) – Mentoring, a changing of mindsets and ditching “lazy stereotypes” will ensure more English-born professional footballers of South Asian descent make it to the top of the game. That’s the view of Riz Rehman, player inclusion executive for the Professional Footballers’ Association, who is tasked with tapping into under-used reserves of talent. While black players are well-represented in the English leagues, there are far fewer South Asians just 15 in the professional ranks and 10 young “scholars”, according to Rehman. Over the past 20 years just 24 players of South Asian descent have made a league debut while Ricky Hill remains the only footballer from that background to have played for England, winning three caps in the 1980s. ....
Zesh Rehman created history after becoming the first British-Pakistani to play in the Premier League but wants to be remembered for inspiring others to do the same. The 37-year-old played 30 times for Fulham between 2004 and 2006 and remains the only player from that background to play at the highest level of English football. It is an achievement that no one will ever be able to take away from him, but he says it will mean nothing unless it helps others from similar backgrounds believe they could have a career in professional football. Rehman, who is closing in on 500 career games and is currently player-manager of Southern FC in Hong Kong, told the PA news agency: “That is something that I will always be proud of, but for me it would be even better if that achievement is used in some way to make a difference and inspire people to follow and hopefully increase numbers across the board. ....