Sidelined-2-Sidelines began this year and was set up by the Zesh Rehman Foundation with the help of a grant from the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association.
The coach education and mentoring scheme is designed to develop British Asian coaches in order to increase the number of young people from minority communities accessing high-quality football coaching. The idea is that these coaches will act as role models to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
PFA Management Committee Member Zesh Rehman was the first British South Asian footballer to play in the Barclays Premier League when he represented Fulham from 2003-2006, while he also had spells at Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Bradford City.
Since launching earlier in the year, coaches on the programme have progressed onto working for professional club community departments including Chelsea FC Foundation, QPR In the Community Trust, Fulham FC Foundation, Crystal Palace FC Foundation and AFC Wimbledon Community Football Scheme.
“We are not trying to change the world, we are just trying to make pockets of difference, where we can and by working with the Premier League, PFA, QPR and Chelsea in west London to start with on this project to encourage more coaches is a positive step forward,” Rehman said.
“It is not only about coaches finding roles at professional clubs but for them to pass on their acquired skills to support other local community initiatives and grassroots football to grow the game.”
Jobs in football
Over the last 6 months of the Sidelined-2-Sidelines programme 33 participants have gained their FA Level 1 certificate, 2 have qualified as Level 2 coaches, 2 have enrolled onto a referee course and a number of coaches have enrolled onto the Futsal and Youth Module courses, and over 2000 voluntary hours have been contributed in the community by S2S coaches. The Zesh Rehman Foundation Soccer Schools in Merton and Tooting are also managed and delivered by S2S coaches.
Ragesh Nambiar, who recently secured a community coach role within the Chelsea FC Foundation said: “Since coming onto the S2S programme I’ve qualified as a Level 2 coach and learnt from the experienced coach educators who the ZRF have brought in to support us.
“My role at Chelsea will help me further improve and it’s a great feeling to know that young children within my community look up to me as a role model”.
Expertise
“The Premier League is fully aware of the under-representation of British Asians at all levels of the game,” said Simon Morgan, the Premier League’s Head of Community Development. “We have worked closely with the ZRF to develop Sidelined-2-Sidelines and are confident this programme will offer viable coaching pathways for young people from minority communities.”
