We were disappointed to read remarks made by Amir Khan this week. The boxing great chose the moment of his retirement to take a swipe at young British Asians in sport – and footballers in particular. He said they give up too easy and fall back on “excuses”. He said their diet is “appalling” and made up mainly of curries. Perhaps these were throwaway comments, but they perpetuate a myth and they need to be addressed.
We work together as part of the Asian Inclusion Scheme (Aims) at the Professional Footballers’ Association. One of us is a lawyer, the other a former player and coach, but we both love football and want to see more players of South Asian heritage in the game. We also see every week the commitment young players and their parents are putting into making that a reality. At a recent Aims event at St George’s Park we had 100 young elite players and 200 parents stay a night away from home in order to raise awareness of what it might take to make the grade. These are players who spend all their free time training and parents who will drive the length and breadth of the country to support that. Nobody here is making excuses.
