The PFA's Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme is at the end of its five-year plan and co-ordinator Riz Rehman has spoken about how they're looking to change the game for South Asians
Riz Rehman addresses the members of the AIMS programme at the PFA headquarters.
Riz Rehman addresses the members of the AIMS programme at the PFA headquarters.
Riz Rehman was only nine years old when the challenges of achieving his dream to become a professional footballer came to light.
His father was the only South Asian parent on a coaching training course when he was struck by the demoralising answer to his question surrounding a lack of Asian players. It was when he went home to his children, that he passed on the deflating response.
The answer: “The weather, got the wrong diet and your kids are pushed towards education.”
Riz and his brother Zesh were told, “You’re good players, but you’ve got no chance.”
Times are changing and Riz - along with the help of his elder brother - are pushing their initiative through the Players’ Football Association (PFA) to boost the number of representatives from the South Asian community.
Zesh would go on to be one of the groundbreaking trailblazers for the community and became the first South Asian to play in the Premier League with Fulham, where he made 21 appearances.
Now a coach at Portsmouth, the 41-year-old is one of the few to represent South Asia in a position within the professional game and he acts as a mentor for the programme alongside the likes of Danny Batth, Mal Benning and Neil Taylor.
Zesh Rehman.
Zesh Rehman playing for Fulham against Arsenal in the Premier League.
(Image: Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)
It all changed for Riz, from Birmingham before moving to Surrey, when a broken leg curtailed a promising playing career.
He then swapped his determination to become a footballer for doing his coaching badges before obtaining a sports science degree.
The challenges were always there before he felt within the PFA, things had to be stepped up to bring the lack of South Asian representation to the forefront of the conversation.
As a result, the Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme (AIMS) was created to bring a structured network of support focused on enhancing the experience for Asian footballers at all levels of professional football.
“I’ve been here for 12 years and when I started working for the PFA, when an enquiry came in or a newspaper wanted a quote, it was quickly thrown onto my desk. We needed to stop the pretty quotes and doing the work,” says Rehman.
“In 2018, I was working in the education department and we spoke about connecting with all the South Asian players in the game.”
There have been challenges throughout Rehman’s career, whether it was playing or since he has obtained a role at the PFA.
During his time at a professional football club, he was subject to racism and racial undertones.
With the help of AIMS, he hopes that the correct advice and support for players will help them not feel isolated and deal with their coaches, as well as teammates better..
“During the time the Twin Towers came down so I was the first Pakistani-Muslim playing for the club, there was some inner-city, middle-class working backgrounds, when I was captain of the youth team, I asked why a player was late for training and he said: ‘okay, call me a terrorist’,” he explains.
“You’d speak to your coaches and they’d say it was banter, you had to deal with it and I learned quickly, you don’t say much and got on with it but if it was said to a young, Asian player now, I’m confident they would come to us.
“Any issues players face, the PFA are there to support the player.”
Former Premier League footballer Emile Heskey (left) speaks to the PFA's AIMS programme leader Riz Rehman (right).
Former Premier League footballer Emile Heskey (left) speaks to the PFA's AIMS programme leader Riz Rehman (right).
Participation figures within the field of sport are increasing for South Asians, whether it is in competitive football or on the backroom staff.
The AIMS project is now at the end of its five-year plan with another rise expected ahead of the next stage in the programme. With AIMS, they provide workshops, events and face-to-face Zoom meetings for their players to speak to high-profile figures or some of their mentors.
Rehman adds: “It’s peer-to-peer mentoring at all ages and all stages of the game, because I come from an Asian, Muslim background.
"Families we speak to about the project open up to it straight away, they recognise that there are barriers whether it’s your ethnicity, religion but once they speak to people who have been through the system, live through their experiences and it helps build that connection.
“What they’re now seeing is a community of young Asian players, it really inspires them to believe it can be done.”