Sunderland's Michael Chopra has spurned Indian football offers to play for the country of his forefathers. Instead, the Newcastle-born son of an Indian father fathoms the idea of one day representing England, having played for them in age-group tournaments.

In sharp contrasts, two English-born footballers of Pakistani origin have opted to turn out for the country of their forefathers. QPR defender Zeshan Rehman and Tranmere Rovers midfielder Adnan Ahmed are happy to represent the country of their parents' birth rather than wait for their chance of an England breakthrough.

Both players wore the green and white colours of Pakistan against  Asian champions Iraq in October.

"Out of all the letters I used to get asking for a trial, I didn't see one from a budding Asian player'' - Dave Bassett


The decision of Rehman and Ahmed to play for Pakistan instead of waiting for their England chance has thrown up a few core questions pertaining to Asians vis-à-vis their links with English football.

The question is whether the Premier League, laden as it is with foreign players, is a stumbling block for home-bred players. Fewer and fewer English players are coming through - with only a  marginal presence of Asians in the league despite the community's increasing numbers in England.

Are the English football authorities turning a blind eye to the football-mad Asian communities in their search to fill this void? Or do the answers lie elsewhere?

According to the Asians in Football Forum, Britain's talented Asian footballers are being discriminated against and prevented from playing at the top level, with the English Football Association squarely accused of not doing enough to eradicate stereotyping of Asian players.

Football cannot skirt itself from the issue of racism and the Asians have been at the receiving end in England.
Racism in football is rampant and is preventing many Asians from playing football professionally. Despite their best efforts to get recognition, Asian players are still a long way from playing professionally in significant numbers, and the forecast for Asian footballers coming through is also bleak.

A report  called Asians Can Play Football: A Wasted Decade, calls for urgent action from the FA to prevent future generations of young Asian footballers being left by the wayside. 

These findings come as no surprise to the anti-racist organisation 'Kick It Out.' Leon Mann, its European and media officer, explains that despite his organisation's hard work to eradicate racism, much has still to be done.

"Racism, either explicit or implicit, still prevails in football today," says Mann. ''We still get reports of racist incidents. Asians are being discriminated against through the lack of understanding by clubs, coaches and players. There is enough evidence that Asians are interested in football, but the reason why you don't find more Asian players is that they fear verbal and physical harassment.

"Coaches need to be aware of this. You also have a lot of stereotyping, such as Asians are not tall enough, they're not strong enough, and they've got different dietary habits. Black players used to face the same problems, but they persisted and now they've broken through. Asians can do likewise.''

Newcastle United talent scout and youth coach Doug Thouborn points out that English clubs have been laying more emphasis on strength, starting with youth teams. The lack of those extra centimetres in height among Indian national team players is a topic which the current India coach, Bob Houghton, has been talking of since he took over in June 2006.

However, Dave Bassett, the former Nottingham Forest manager and Leicester City director of football, insists the FA are not at fault for the lack of Asian players coming through. He cites apathy within the British Asian communities and says: "Out of all the letters I used to get asking for a trial, I didn't see one from a budding Asian player.''

Current Indian captain Baichung Bhutia tried his luck with Bury FC a few years ago without much success. But Bassett adds: ''Asian talent is rare, and the problem is that Asian parents aren't interested. Asians tend to play with their own unit, where they seem comfortable. It may be a generation before we find good Asian players."

Ahmed, asked why there are so few Asian footballers in England, says: "Culturally, there's a big difference, as the parents don't understand football. Also, Asian kids play within themselves. They need to go out and get spotted early. If clubs target Asian communities, things could change, too."

Analysts feel that one drawback for Asian football hopefuls is that there are no role models for them to emulate. Hopefully all that will change in the coming years.