Zesh Rehman’s full debut was more memorable than most. The defender helped subdue Tottenham Hotspur’s Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane in a 2-0 win, but what and who he represented far outweighed Fulham’s three-point haul.

He’d become the first British-born Pakistani to start a Premier League match.

“It wasn’t just in the U.K., but across the world as well, specifically in Pakistan,” Riz Rehman, the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Player Inclusion Executive, told theScore of the attention that greeted his brother’s appearance in 2004.

“It inspired a lot of kids abroad and in the U.K. He was just inundated with emails, phone calls. The club was inundated with the media wanting to talk to him about his journey.”

Zesh Rehman is a trailblazer for British Asians – particularly South Asians – who harbor aspirations of becoming professional footballers, but his landmark didn’t trigger a landslide.

Asian and British Asian people make up almost 7.5% of the U.K. population, but during the 2019-20 campaign, just eight players hailing from those backgrounds made first-team appearances across England’s top four divisions, according to the PFA. A report commissioned by Football Supporters’ Association and Beyond Entertainment in November 2020 stated only 0.25% of professional footballers were British Asian.

“There’s an untapped market out there,” Riz Rehman said.

Nearly two decades on from his brother’s historic appearance, Rehman is actively addressing English football’s long-overlooked demographic as head of the PFA’s Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme. The initiative officially launched in February 2021 following an extended trial period.

Rehman’s role is to meet with clubs to discuss their recruitment strategies and guide them toward communities and programs that fall below their radar.

“It’s not about blaming the clubs,” he explained, “it’s also looking at the community and the current setup. What leagues are players playing in? Where do scouts go?”

In addition to improving the visibility of football in Asian communities, the AIMS provides support that was scarce while the Rehman brothers were emerging at Brentford and Fulham. Welsh international Neil Taylor, Sunderland center-back Danny Batth, and other former and current players of South Asian heritage are among those mentoring the next generation through the program.

Rehman himself talks to players on a daily basis. He estimates he’s engaged with around 80 players from an academy system comprising approximately 15,000 promising youngsters. Rehman can’t imagine he’s missed as many as 20 youth-team footballers from Asian backgrounds, but even if he should be keeping tabs on 100 players, that still represents under 0.7% of the footballers in clubs’ production lines.

“They’re playing just as much as their Black and white counterparts,” Rehman said. “So why not look at them?”

Children’s football participation in England

Source: Sport England, January 2020

Asian youngsters’ appetite for the game is unquestionable, yet it’s not being reflected in England’s professional game. This presents an opportunity for clubs to knock down biases in the nation’s No. 1 sport and uncover nascent talents amid relatively little competition from their rivals.

The hunger for a South Asian player to “make it” is also huge, offering clubs potentially lucrative marketing windfalls.

Manchester United’s teenage midfielder Zidane Iqbal is a media sensation. He was born in England and could’ve also donned a Pakistan kit on the international stage, but he instead opted to play for his mother’s homeland of Iraq. He made his debut in a World Cup qualifier in January.

“He’s the second-most requested player at United for media requests after Cristiano Ronaldo,” Rehman said. “He’s only played five minutes of Champions League football. So, that’s the kind of interest there is.”

Reflecting the community

Queens Park Rangers are ahead of the curve. Director of football Les Ferdinand and head of coaching Chris Ramsey are at the forefront of the club’s vision, and its implementation – which began when Ferdinand was hired in 2015 – didn’t require the scouting department to be overhauled or other expensive amendments to QPR’s day-to-day operations.

They simply looked around the streets cradling Loftus Road.

“One of the remits (Ferdinand) set the club was to try and make the club’s players or the academy players – any players that we work with on the football front – look like our local community,” football development manager Danny Harrigan, who’s been with the club for 12 years, told theScore.

Harrigan recently helped strike up a relationship with Indian Gymkhana, a multi-sports club based in Isleworth, west London, that’s expanded its football program. Youth coaches at Indian Gymkhana were invited to QPR’s academy, where they met with staff and watched some of their training drills. The visiting coaches then sat down to discuss possible career pathways for their own promising players.

Through simply reaching out, QPR forged a link that could make players from minority backgrounds at Indian Gymkhana – membership isn’t restricted to people of Indian origin – feel a part of British football. Indian Gymkhana and QPR have long been part of the same community, and now it feels that way.

QPR’s inclusive approach extends beyond player recruitment. Manisha Tailor is forging a path for people from diverse backgrounds in her position as QPR’s assistant head of coaching. She’s the first woman and first person of South Asian heritage to occupy such a prestigious coaching role in the men’s game in England.

Tailor was a latecomer to football – only giving up teaching at a primary school in 2011 – who could’ve been involved earlier if there were hints of full-time opportunities in the sport. Role models were in short supply. “I didn’t see people like me in that space,” she said.

It was when she stepped away from full-time employment to finish a qualification and care for her mother that she gradually became acquainted with a “new world.” Upon learning Tailor had stopped teaching, former England attacker Rachel Yankey, whom Tailor had worked with in education, encouraged her friend to join her grassroots program on a part-time basis. Tailor was now making steps in the sport she loved, and it was through football that she met Ramsey at two events relating to diversity.

Ramsey told an inquisitive Tailor that she needed to hone her craft with minutes on the training pitches and attain a UEFA B license to further her career when they first met in 2014, advice she took. Ramsey, who’d identified Tailor’s aptitude and unbridled work ethic, offered her a volunteer role at QPR during their second encounter two years later.

Tailor recognizes that her mentor, who is Black, had a strong sense of empathy after dealing with adversity himself. The vastly experienced Ramsey’s nine-month spell in charge of QPR in 2015 is his only managerial stint in England’s professional leagues.

“He understands what it’s really like to be the best person for the job but not necessarily get the job,” Tailor said. “He gets what it’s like to go time after time, fill in job applications, but not even get an interview.”

During their visit to QPR, the Indian Gymkhana coaches noted there had been more activity around their players in recent years. But progress is steady. To expedite the process, a quota system could be introduced to ensure clubs are training children in numbers that better reflect the participation rates of ethnic groups in their local areas.

However, there is progress. For a long time, English football couldn’t say that about Asian involvement – especially as it pertains to South Asian players.

The clubs already gaining a presence in previously ignored neighborhoods stand to benefit for years to come. By uncovering players in a less-farmed section of the British football landscape, they can attract a new generation of fans with various outreach projects, such as supporting charitable causes and visiting local schools.

And with more fans come new generations of followers who want to play for the club that represents them.

“There’s a lot more to what we do than just what people see on the Saturday,” Harrigan said. “We are a community club.”

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The summer transfer window is officially open. Below, theScore runs through every Premier League deal that has been confirmed by the 20 clubs in England’s top flight.

Arsenal

Players In

• Matt Turner (New England Revolution) – permanent transfer (Read more)
• Hector Bellerin (Real Betis) – return from loan
• Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Roma) – return from loan
• William Saliba (Marseille) – return from loan
• Lucas Torreira (Fiorentina) – return from loan
• Pablo Mari (Udinese) – return from loan
• Reiss Nelson (Feyenoord) – return from loan
• Alex Runarsson (OH Leuven) – return from loan
• Auston Trusty (Colorado Rapids) – return from loan

Players Out

• Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) – free transfer (Read more)
• Dinos Mavropanos (Stuttgart) – loan made permanent
• Jonathan Dinzeyi – released
• Joel Lopez – released
• Jordan McEneff – released

Aston Villa

Players In

• Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona) – £17.2M fee (Read more)
• Diego Carlos (Sevilla) – reported £26M fee (Read more)
• Boubacar Kamara (Marseille) – free transfer (Read more)
• Robin Olsen (Roma) – permanent transfer
• Anwar El Ghazi (Everton) – return from loan
• Keinan Davis (Nottingham Forest) – return from loan
• Trezeguet (Istanbul Basaksehir) – return from loan
• Frederic Guilbert (Strasbourg) – return from loan
• Lovre Kalinic (Hajduk Split) – return from loan

Players Out

• Matt Targett (Newcastle United) – loan made permanent for £15M (Read more)

Bournemouth

Players In

• None

Players Out

• Gary Cahill – released
• Nat Phillips (Liverpool) – end of loan
• Todd Cantwell (Norwich City) – end of loan
• Leif Davis (Leeds United) – end of loan
• Ethan Laird (Manchester United) – end of loan
• Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United) – end of loan
• Morgan Rogers (Manchester City) – end of loan
• Connor Kurran-Browne – released
• Ryan Glover – released
• Brennan Camp – released
• Luke Nippard – released
• Owen Palmer – released
• Aaron Roberts – released
• Jack Seddon – released

Brentford

Players In

• Halil Dervisoglu (Galatasaray) – return from loan
• Marcus Forss (Hull City) – return from loan
• Mads Bidstrup (FC Nordsjaelland) – return from loan
• Joel Valencia (AD Alcorcon) – return from loan
• Charlie Goode (Sheffield United) – return from loan
• Dominic Thompson (Ipswich Town) – return from loan
• Ellery Balcombe (Bromley) – return from loan
• Luka Racic (KB Koge) – return from loan

Players Out

• Mathias “Zanka” Jorgensen – released
• Alvaro Fernandez (Huesca) – end of loan
• Jonas Lossl (FC Midtjylland) – end of loan
• Julian Jeanvier – released
• Ben Hockenhull (Tranmere Rovers) – free transfer

Brighton & Hove Albion

Players In

• Florin Andone (Cadiz) – return from loan
• Aaron Connolly (Middlesbrough) – return from loan
• Andi Zeqiri (Augsburg) – return from loan
• Leo Ostigard (Genoa) – return from loan
• Matt Clarke (West Bromwich Albion) – return from loan
• Jan Paul van Hecke (Blackburn Rovers) – return from loan
• Taylor Richards (Birmingham City) – return from loan
• Abdallah Sima (Stoke City) – return from loan
• Kacper Kozlowski (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise) – return from loan
• Deniz Undav (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise) – return from loan
• Kjell Scherpen (KV Oostende) – return from loan
• Michal Karbownik (Olympiacos) – return from loan

Players Out

• Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion) – loan made permanent
• Tudor Baluta – released
• Lars Dendoncker – released
• Ayo Tanimowo – released
• Adam Desbois – released
• Ulrick Ella – released
• John Lucero – released
• Jaami Qureshi – released

Chelsea

Players In

• Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace) – return from loan
• Armando Broja (Southampton) – return from loan
• Michy Batshuayi (Besiktas) – return from loan
• Emerson Palmieri (Lyon) – return from loan
• Ethan Ampadu (Venezia) – return from loan
• Billy Gilmour (Norwich City) – return from loan
• Abdul-Rahman Baba (Reading) – return from loan
• Matt Miazga (Alaves) – return from loan

Players Out

• Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid) – free transfer (Read more)
• Andreas Christensen – released
• Danny Drinkwater – released (Read more)
• Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid) – end of loan
• Jake Clarke-Salter – released
• Charly Musonda Jr. – released

Crystal Palace

Players In

• Luke Plange (Derby County) – return from loan

Players Out

• Conor Gallagher (Chelsea) – end of loan
• Martin Kelly – released

Everton

Players In

• Jean-Philippe Gbamin (CSKA Moscow) – return from loan
• Joao Virginia (Sporting CP) – return from loan
• Niels Nkounkou (Standard Liege) – return from loan

Players Out

• Fabian Delph – released
• Donny van de Beek (Manchester United) – end of loan
• Gylfi Sigurdsson – released
• Jonjoe Kenny – released
• Cenk Tosun – released
• Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) – end of loan

Fulham

Players In

• Steven Sessegnon (Plymouth Argyle) – return from loan

Players Out

• Fabio Carvalho (Liverpool) – permanent transfer (Read more)
• Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Napoli) – loan made permanent
• Jean Michael Seri – released
• Cyrus Christie – released
• Michael Hector – released
• Alfie Mawson – released
• Neco Williams (Liverpool) – end of loan
• Fabri – released
• Jerome Opoku – released
• Jacob Adams – released
• Eric Ameyaw – released
• Xavier Benjamin – released
• Tyler Caton – released
• Jonathan Page – released
• Julian Schwarzer – released
• Jaylan Wildbore – released

Leeds United

Players In

• Brenden Aaronson (Salzburg) – reported $28M fee (Read more)
• Rasmus Kristensen (Salzburg) – reported £8.5M fee (Read more)
• Helder Costa (Valencia) – return from loan
• Ian Poveda (Blackburn Rovers) – return from loan
• Leif Davis (Bournemouth) – return from loan
• Cody Drameh (Cardiff City) – return from loan
• Mateusz Bogusz (UD Ibiza) – return from loan

Players Out

• Nohan Kenneh (Hibernian) – permanent transfer

Leicester City

Players In

• None

Players Out

• Eldin Jakupovic – released
• Vontae Daley-Campbell – released
• Tyrese Shade – released
• Jacob Wakeling – released
• Callum Hulme – released
• Will Russ – released

Liverpool

Players In

• Fabio Carvalho (Fulham) – permanent transfer (Read more)
• Neco Williams (Fulham) – return from loan
• Nat Phillips (Bournemouth) – return from loan
• Ben Davies (Sheffield United) – return from loan
• Sepp van den Berg (Preston North End) – return from loan

Players Out

• Divock Origi – released (Read more)
• Loris Karius – released (Read more)
• Ben Woodburn – released
• Sheyi Ojo – released
• Elijah Dixon-Bonner – released
• Luis Longstaff – released
• Sean Wilson – released

Manchester City

Players In

• Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) – reported €60M fee (Read more)
• Issa Kabore (Troyes) – return from loan
• Ko Itakura (Schalke) – return from loan
• Yangel Herrera (Espanyol) – return from loan
• Nahuel Bustos (Girona) – return from loan
• Arijanet Muric (Adana Demirspor) – return from loan
• Morgan Rogers (Bournemouth) – return from loan
• Ante Palaversa (KV Kortrijk) – return from loan
• Marlos Moreno (KV Kortrijk) – return from loan
• Daniel Arzani (Lommel) – return from loan
• Ryotaro Meshino (Estoril) – return from loan
• Diego Rosa (Lommel) – return from loan

Players Out

• Fernandinho – released (Read more)
• Jayden Braaf (Borussia Dortmund) – free transfer (Read more)
• Pedro Porro (Sporting CP) – loan made permanent

Manchester United

Players In

• Anthony Martial (Sevilla) – return from loan
• Donny van de Beek (Everton) – return from loan
• Axel Tuanzebe (Napoli) – return from loan
• James Garner (Nottingham Forest) – return from loan
• Amad Diallo (Rangers) – return from loan
• Brandon Williams (Norwich City) – return from loan
• Ethan Laird (Bournemouth) – return from loan
• Tahith Chong (Birmingham City) – return from loan
• Facundo Pellistri (Alaves) – return from loan
• Andreas Pereira (Flamengo) – return from loan

Players Out

• Paul Pogba – released (Read more)
• Juan Mata – released (Read more)
• Nemanja Matic – released (Read more)
• Edinson Cavani – released
• Jesse Lingard – released
• Lee Grant – retired
• Paul McShane – released
• D’Mani Mellor – released
• Reece Devine – released
• Connor Stanley – released
• Paul Woolston – released

Newcastle United

Players In

• Matt Targett (Aston Villa) – loan made permanent for £15M (Read more)
• Freddie Woodman (Bournemouth) – return from loan
• Jeff Hendrick (Queens Park Rangers) – return from loan
• Matty Longstaff (Mansfield Town) – return from loan
• Alex Murphy (Galway United) – permanent transfer

Players Out

• Isaac Hayden (Norwich City) – season-long loan
• Jake Turner – released
• Mo Sangare (Accrington Stanley) – free transfer
• Jack Young (Wycombe Wanderers) – loan made permanent
• Oisin McEntee (Walsall) – free transfer
• Piotr Banda – released
• Liam Chrystal – released
• Joel Green – released
• Josh Nicholson – released
• Nathan Robertson – released

Nottingham Forest

Players In

• Lyle Taylor (Birmingham City) – return from loan
• Harry Arter (Notts County) – return from loan
• Nikolas Ioannou (Como) – return from loan
• Mohamed Drager (Luzern) – return from loan
• Nuno Da Costa (Caen) – return from loan

Players Out

• Djed Spence (Middlesbrough) – end of loan
• James Garner (Manchester United) – end of loan
• Keinan Davis (Aston Villa) – end of loan
• Philip Zinckernagel (Watford) – end of loan
• Max Lowe (Sheffield United) – end of loan
• Carl Jenkinson – released
• Gaetan Bong – released
• Tobias Figueiredo – released
• Baba Fernandes – released
• Sam Sanders – released
• Josh Barnes – released
• Marcelo Valencia – released
• Morgan Thomas-Sadler – released
• Joe Watkins – released

Southampton

Players In

• Dan N’Lundulu (Cheltenham Town) – return from loan
• Alex Iwumene (Sutton United) – permanent transfer

Players Out

• Fraser Forster (Tottenham Hotspur) – free transfer (Read more)
• Armando Broja (Chelsea) – end of loan
• Harry Lewis (Bradford City) – free transfer

Tottenham Hotspur

Players In

• Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan) – free transfer (Read more)
• Fraser Forster (Southampton) – free transfer (Read more)
• Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon) – return from loan
• Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal) – return from loan
• Bryan Gil (Valencia) – return from loan
• Pape Sarr (Metz) – return from loan
• Jack Clarke (Sunderland) – return from loan

Players Out

• Pierluigi Gollini (Atalanta) – end of loan
• J’Neil Bennett – released
• Tobi Omole – released
• Josh Oluwayemi – released
• Kacper Kurylowicz – released
• Dermi Lusala – released
• Thimothee Lo-Tutala – released
• Isak Solberg – released

West Ham United

Players In

• Conor Coventry (MK Dons) – return from loan

Players Out

• Mark Noble – retired (Read more)
• Andriy Yarmolenko – released (Read more)
• Ryan Fredericks – released
• Alex Kral (Spartak Moscow) – end of loan
• David Martin – released
• Nathan Holland – released
• Jayden Fevrier – released
• Amadou Diallo – released
• Ossama Ashley – released

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Players In

• Hee-Chan Hwang (RB Leipzig) – loan made permanent for reported €16M
• Morgan Gibbs-White (Sheffield United) – return from loan
• Patrick Cutrone (Empoli) – return from loan
• Bruno Jordao (Grasshoppers) – return from loan
• Bendeguz Bolla (Grasshoppers) – return from loan
• Leo Bonatini (Grasshoppers) – return from loan
• Connor Ronan (St. Mirren) – return from loan
• Louie Moulden (Ebbsfleet United) – return from loan
• Renat Dadashov (Tondela) – return from loan

Players Out

• Romain Saiss – released
• Francisco Trincao (Barcelona) – end of loan
• John Ruddy – released
• Marcal – released
• Ruben Vinagre (Sporting CP) – loan made permanent
• Jamie Pardington – released
• Conor Carty – released
• Pascal Estrada – released
• Raphael Nya – released
• Faisu Sangare – released

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wales is off to the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

Gareth Bale’s free-kick in the 34th minute forced an own goal from Andriy Yarmolenko, and the Welsh held on to beat Ukraine 1-0 in Sunday’s playoff final at Cardiff City Stadium.

Wales is the 13th and final team from Europe to book a ticket to Qatar. It drops into Group B with England, Iran, and the United States.

Rob Page’s side will face the U.S. first on Nov. 21. It will then meet Iran on Nov. 25 and finish off round-robin play four days later against England.

Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey – a backup for recently relegated Premier League side Burnley and for his country at last year’s European Championship – made nine saves to preserve a famous clean sheet.

Ukraine outshot Wales 23-10 but couldn’t find a way past the 35-year-old shot-stopper.

The playoff final was originally scheduled to take place in March. UEFA rearranged the fixture following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Six of the players in Oleksandr Petrakov’s starting lineup on Sunday hadn’t played since the war broke out at the end of February. Their first taste of competitive action in months came in Wednesday’s playoff semifinal in Scotland, where Ukraine pulled off an emotional 3-1 victory.

Petrakov made no changes to the lineup on Sunday, and his players didn’t disappoint him. Ukraine outplayed Wales in the first half, and Hennessey continued to frustrate the visitors in the second. The Welshman kept out Viktor Tsyhankov’s close-range effort 10 minutes after the interval and dove to his left to turn away Artem Dovbyk’s powerful header in the 84th minute.

Brennan Johnson nearly doubled Wales’ advantage when he hit the post in the 75th minute. Ukrainian keeper Heorhiy Bushchan denied Bale from point-blank range a minute later.

The Ukrainians had hoped World Cup qualification would offer the people of their war-torn country a sense of joy amid the continuing barrage on their homeland. Full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko had said he wanted to give his compatriots a reason to smile, even if only “for a few seconds.”

The war is now 102 days’ old, and on Sunday, Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime, which has classified the invasion as a “special military operation,” resumed airstrikes on the capital of Kyiv.

Nearly seven million people have fled Ukraine since the war started on Feb. 24, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

For Wales, the moment has come to celebrate yet another landmark achievement. After reaching the quarterfinals of the 1958 World Cup, the semifinals of Euro 2016, and the round of 16 at Euro 2020, the national team has now qualified for only its fourth major tournament.

Bale, who’s played a starring role in Wales’ revival as a football nation, is likely to continue to captain his country. A pending free agent following the expiration of his contract with Real Madrid, the 32-year-old had previously hinted he could retire.

Asked after the match if he’d postpone his decision, Bale said with a smirk, “For a little bit.”

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.