More than just hype

Wembley Stadium will play host to the first-ever Asian Football Awards on Tuesday night, which aims to recognise and celebrate the achievements and strides of individuals and organisations in the beautiful game.

The idea of such an event would have raised many a clichéd eyebrow when it was first announced last year. Most would have dismissed it as a fad, as a PR stunt maybe, or even just a waste of time. After all, how many Asian players or coaches have graced the hallowed turf at the home of football?

Now, I’ve read quite a few forum posts and comments regarding the awards. Some are supportive of the aims of the awards while others, who I like referring to as ‘keyboard warriors’, take great pride in saying the awards and the nominations are rubbish and that they can do better. Well, the platform is there for them to prove the point. Let’s see how many of them will make the grade for next year’s events.

Back to the awards and in my opinion, overall, the list of candidates is pretty good though there are some glaring omissions which have surprised me. I guess that is probably a good thing in that it shows there are more than just those mentioned that are worthy of the recognition and maybe next year will be their time to be placed in the spotlight.

I give credit to the co-founders Imran Hassan and Baljit Rihal, a graduate from OBV’s Magistrates Shadowing Scheme. They have turned their idea into a reality and whatever their vision, intentions and future ambitions, hats off to them for actually doing something of this calibre.

For the last two decades, the football authorities, clubs and individuals have tried to address the problem of the lack of visibility from the Asian community in the beautiful game. The Awards may or may not effect change, but giving recognition and appreciation to those who have paved the path or are setting the foundations should only go on to inspire the future generations, not just in football, but in all aspects of society.

Zohaib Rashid