Former Bristol Rovers defender Anwar Uddin has been awarded an MBE for services to association football in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
Uddin, who made 21 appearances for the Gas from 2002-2004, has led the Fans for Diversity campaign, a partnership between the Football Supporters’ Association and Kick It Out, celebrating and nurturing diversity in the game.
Uddin has run a number of workshops in Bristol, working closely with the Bristol Rovers Community Trust and the Mayor’s office.
“I am extremely proud to be awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to football,” Uddin wrote on Twitter. “I am so grateful for what football has given me - still at heart a young fan from East London, of mixed Bangladeshi/English heritage who has had the opportunity to play, coach, manage and campaign towards positive change within the game.
“I’d like to thank my family, the Football Supporters’ Association, all the clubs I have represented and everyone associated with the Fans for Diversity campaign. It’s because of the hard work of so many that I receive this Honour. Football is, and should always be, for everyone.”
Uddin began his career with West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday before making his league debut for Rovers in August, 2002 in the old Division Three (now League Two) becoming the first British-Bangladeshi to play professionally.
He left the Gas on a free transfer in 2004 before signing for Dagenham & Redbridge, where he made more than 200 appearances over six years. Uddin also played for Barnet, Sutton United and Eastbourne before retiring in 2013. Now assistant manager at non-league Aldershot, the 40-year-old also served as No2 to England C manager Paul Fairclough in March.
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