How do we change the 'cultural' make up of football crowds?

[pauliewalnuts]

Slight tangent, but whenever I see Man United at home on telly, I always look out for the row of big, burly Sikh blokes who sit to the right of the dugouts.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

You don't see how saying that "Asians...gloryhunt and don't support their local club" is not offensive?

I'm pretty sure that an Asian Villa fan (or do they not exist?) reading that would probably think you were a bit ignorant.

For the record, both Man Utd and Arsenal both have an Asian player in their first team squad.

No, because it's true for the most part.

And also, when i say Asian I mean South Asian.

[tom jennings IV]

So, just so we're clear, are you racially stereotyping any countries specifically or just the entire sub-Himalayan section of the continent (South Asia)? South Asia does contain somewhere around 20% of the entire world's population so even if you can't see that to lump all of those people together is offensive you can at least see that it is completely ridiculous and ignorant.

[The Laughing Policeman]

Thank you Aftab for your post, quite illuminating. It's the question you asked at the end that I was getting at in my OP.
Thankfully we don't get the racist chants any more, It's the so called "casual" racism that you hear at football grounds that I don't like. At the Blackburn game I was in the Upper Holte and Heskey made a cock up of a pass that went straight to one of their players the guy sitting in front of me shouted "Heskey you're a useless black bastard", no doubt Heskey didn't hear it but those of us around the guy did and a lot of them started sniggering. The person sitting next to me leant over tapped the man on the shoulder and told him he was out of order. The man quite sheepishly apologised and said it came out with out thinking.
That is the sort of unthinking abuse that puts some people off going to football matches
After a long time trying I've finally convinced an Asian friend to come to the Bolton match next week. She's been a Villa fan all her life and is in her mid thirties but has never been to a live football match. She was always worried about the sort of  unthinking racism that I and a couple of other people have mentioned.
Hopefully she will have an enjoyable time and want to keep on going to Villa Park and if she does then my next plan is to try and get her to bring her two nephews with her to a match.
We can all do our bit by telling the people around us that come out with racist remarks that it isn't acceptable at Villa Park, or anywhere else for that matter.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

So, just so we're clear, are you racially stereotyping any countries specifically or just the entire sub-Himalayan section of the continent (South Asia)? South Asia does contain somewhere around 20% of the entire world's population so even if you can't see that to lump all of those people together is offensive you can at least see that it is completely ridiculous and ignorant.

British South Asians.

[olaftab]

Slight tangent, but whenever I see Man United at home on telly, I always look out for the row of big, burly Sikh blokes who sit to the right of the dugouts.

I know them and they are glory hunters from Smethwick! (just to add more weight to  TRS-T's opinion!!)


NB: I don't actually know them just in case any law suits are being prepared and I would say the way they wear their turbans they are  mancchav!

[brian green]

In our village we have 100% of the mixed race population following football on a weekly basis.   We only have two.   One is our window cleaner and the other a local fireman.   They are both much liked and respected members of the community who went with their dads to the football as boys, one to Cambridge United and the other to Histon.   Proper football fans of proper football clubs.

[PeterWithesShin]

Most of the lads i've gone to VP with since the late 80s have been Asian. Many have been going since the early 70s and some had similar stories to Aftab about their early years. One had an article about it in H&V years ago. The only time I saw any racial abuse was at the scouse semi at Old Trafford. We were in the Stretford near the back, just in front of the boxes. When they scored their first the box behind us was full of dippers and they gave it the big one to us, including calling my mates "paki bastards". It was most satisfying to see the old bill paying him a visit a few minutes later and that he had to go to court over it.

Regarding what TRS-T said, over the years my mates have said the same and how much they get pissed off with the number of glory hunting local Asians.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

Some of Bradford's Asian football fans would much rather support teams such as Manchester United and Liverpool instead of the home club, despite it introducing a number of initiatives to get Asian soccer fans through the turnstiles.

Bradford City FC's joint chairman Mark Lorn told the BBC's Asian Network he was mystified as to why he could not get more Asians into his team's 25,000-seater stadium at Valley Parade.

He said: "There is no violence or racism on our terraces and racism in general has been stamped out in the game as a whole.

"We would not tolerate any form of discrimination and in fact we are positively trying to encourage more Asian supporters.

"We have a dedicated room where people can go to pray, and we think we even invented the chicken tikka pie which is on sale at our ground as an alternative to the traditional meat pie.

"In some seats it's cheaper for a family to watch Bradford City on a Saturday afternoon than taking them for a burger."

In the mid-1990s Bradford enjoyed two seasons in the Premiership and attendances at the ground were increasing every week.

The club is the only professional outfit with an Asian first team captain, yet still it struggles to attract large numbers of Asian fans.

Teenagers Imran and Ali live just 100m from Valley Parade but they are die-hard Manchester United supporters.

Imran, who has never been to a Bradford City match, said: "Why should we support Bradford City when they're rubbish? We will support our city but not the team and all my friends think the same."

Ali has seen a game at Valley Parade but he said he still wouldn't support the home team.

"The only time I would go into the ground to watch the team is if they gave out free tickets, but I would go to Old Trafford any day if I could afford it, their team is much much better".

Former Bradford solicitor Aurungzeb Iqbal, who set up Bradford City's now-defunct Asian supporters club, said more must be done to get Asian youngsters on to the terraces.

The vast majority of people living around Bradford City's Valley Parade ground are of Asian origin but Aurungzeb said few venture through the turnstiles to watch the Bantams in action.

He said he believed it was time to get to the root of the problem.

"For 40 years, I believe the Asian community has been neglected by football clubs, not just here but in other towns and cities too," he said.

"If you go into Bradford into any mosque between the hours of, say, five and seven o'clock, they are full of kids. They're able to attract them.

"We need to get parents and imams to Valley Parade, not just for the football matches but coming in to see the facilities and to slowly win them over.

"Once those parents start bringing their kids in, and once you've got the imams on side, then you will have the numbers coming through."

He added: "People living in Bradford are from one region of Pakistan.

"The club could have scouts going to Mirpur saying, 'We're searching for a star'. Or they could take a small squad to hold friendly games there.

"It would encourage youngsters to come and watch Bradford City."

But Zesh Rehman, now in his second season as Bradford City's first team captain and who also plays for Pakistan, said he believed that the club might now be at a turning point.

He agreed the problem of attracting people from the city's Asian community was a generational one - but said it could turn to the Bantams' advantage.

"The first generation that came over had no love for football. The second generation got involved in the game a little bit," he said.

"Now, obviously, the third generation - like me - can hopefully inspire the next generation.

"I believe they will be the real difference-makers: the kids who are born here to parents who were born here."

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

Good article which even mentions Villa

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7912357.stm

[andyaston]

When me and my mate took up our usual seats in the North Stand on Saturday we saw to Asain lad, my first thought was that they were there to see United, more because of the opposition than anything. I couldn't of been further away from the truth they were behind the Villa all the way through, even given the standard of our play.

They were good chaps to speak to I hope to see more of this because they area we are situated should attract more from the Asian community.

[Lizz]

When me and my mate took up our usual seats in the North Stand on Saturday we saw to Asain lad, my first thought was that they were there to see United, more because of the opposition than anything. I couldn't of been further away from the truth they were behind the Villa all the way through, even given the standard of our play.

They were good chaps to speak to I hope to see more of this because they area we are situated should attract more from the Asian community.

This reminds me of my guilty plea against the charge of jumping to conclusions. Queuing in the Villa Chippy before a game against Man Ure a few seasons ago, heard a few people with what were probably west country accents discussing what to order. Immediately I decided they were glory hunting day trippers. Once they'd decided what to order, they went on to discuss Villa, and it soon became very apparent they were Villa fans, not glory hunters.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

Boss of football's anti-racism group is branded a racist after calling Asian fan a 'coconut'

Liverpool fan Parmjit Singh

Mr Singh, a postman from the West Midlands

 

Also read this on Liverpool's forum

I'm Sikh and have been going to Anfield for 15 years now. Every year you see more and more Asians at the ground. But the number at the Mancs FA game was unbelievable. There seemed to be hundreds!

They're stealing our fans 

[Shoody]

I know plenty of caucasian people from the West Midlands who support United and Liverpool. It's really no secret that football fans from our area support the bigger north western clubs and to be honest TRS-T its incredibly dissappointing to see you breaking this down into racial groups. It is nothing to do with the colour or background of people, it is simply that Liverpool and United are bigger teams than us.

Last season Villa had more fans arrested for racist comments than many other teams. I believe it was about 104 arrests, I cant remember exactly. Maybe THIS is something that should be worked on rather than accusing racial minorities of being glory hunters.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

Is 'coconut' racist now?

If it is our village fete is going to be very boring this year. Old Mr Sprinkins has been running his Shy for years.

Looks like it'll be 'Pin the Tail on Biscuit' this year.