British South Asians in Football: Ruudy Yusuf set for Harlow stay as Sunny Singh Gill links up with Sam Allison | Football News

Trailblazing Harlow Town Ladies boss Ruudy Yusuf has told Sky Sports News he is “99 per cent certain” he will remain as the club’s manager next season.

Yusuf, who previously worked under Jamie O’Hara and Paul Konchesky at Billericay Town, took the reins at Harlow last October, and was thought to be the only manager from Britain’s South Asian community plying his trade in the top four divisions of either the men’s or the women’s game during the 2021/22 season.

Speaking after his side’s FA Women’s National League clash with Kent Football United, Yusuf said he feels like he has unfinished business at Harlow Town Ladies.

“I’ve had a conversation with the club already, I’ll have another one and we’ll see. I’m not saying no [to staying] and I’m not saying yes, but I am leaning towards a yes,” he told Sky Sports News.

“I like the project that we are building here and I would love to be a part of it. I feel like I have unfinished business here [and I know what I can do] with a pre-season, starting from the beginning, with the current crop and group of players that we have got.

“We’re now a young side, going from an average age of almost 30 to an average age of 19 [during my time in charge]. And the way the club is going, I think it’s 99 per cent that I am staying here.”

Sky Sports News revealed that four coaches of South Asian heritage were helping to prepare the England C non-league team for their international friendly against Wales last month in an unprecedented step for coach diversity in English football.

That came after Yusuf himself assembled a team of four coaches from South Asian backgrounds to assist him at Harlow, believed to be a first in the fourth tier of women’s football in this country.

One of those coaches, Sahim Ahmed, has since departed due to other commitments and been replaced as assistant manager by Junior Ndigwe Kings, but first-team coach Ethan Barr and head of goalkeeping Dev Bhamra are still part of the Harlow Town Ladies setup.

Bhamra said Yusuf’s no-nonsense management style is what sets him apart from his contemporaries.

“I’m still playing myself for Harlow Town’s men’s team and it’s just a really good environment to be in and around, week-in week-out, doing what I love, developing myself while also helping other players grow,” Bhamra told Sky Sports News.

“It’s been brilliant working with coach Ruudy and I’ve already learnt so much. He’s critical, but he’s very honest and that’s what you want in a manager. The only way you are going to get better is with honest criticism.

“He doesn’t beat around the bush, he’s honest and gets straight to the point, and he helps all of the players and the coaches improve. He’s brilliant at what he does and that’s rubbing off on all of us.”

Barr added: “Working in this role at Harlow Town Ladies has been such a good experience for me as a young coach. I’ve had a chance to dive in at the deep end and there have been lots of learnings. I’m like a sponge, I just try and soak it all up.

“But my future is very much tied to the manager’s – where he goes, I go. If he decides to stay, I stay, and if he stops today, I stop today.”

Allison and Singh Gill take charge of EFL game

The country’s highest-ranked Black referee was joined by the top referee from Britain’s South Asian community to preside over an EFL match on Easter Monday.

Sam Allison was the man in the middle, with National League referee Singh Gill acting as the fourth official for Swindon Town’s match with Leyton Orient, in another landmark moment for refereeing in English football.

Sky Sports News exclusively revealed last week that Allison and Singh Gill would be in action together for the League Two clash at the County Ground, which saw Leyton Orient end Swindon’s promotion hopes with a 2-1 away win.

Allison is a firefighter and former semi-professional footballer, and became just the second Black referee in English Football League history – behind only Uriah Rennie – at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.

Last season, Sky Sports News revealed Sikh-Punjabi brothers Sunny Singh Gill and Bhups were making history as the first pair of match officials of British South Asian heritage ever to preside over a fixture in the Sky Bet Championship.

Both continue to progress as match officials in their own right, with father Jarnail Singh telling Sky Sports News in February that his sons are giving members of the community hope that they can make it in the game.

“As a parent, I’m very proud that the boys have followed in my footsteps and they are doing themselves and the community proud,” Jarnail told Sky Sports News.

“I never say that they are doing well because it only takes one game and they are back to where they started in terms of merit positions.

“But I can see that they are more committed than ever because they both want to progress to the next level, so they really are giving it 110 per cent.

“Making history last season, of course, it naturally gave them a lift and more thirst for success – especially as it was covered so positively in the media. At the same time, both are laid back and they pretty much just take things in their stride.

“And if they do well, and hopefully take that next step, they can be in the spotlight a little more and go on to become even greater role models for our future generations of referees, players and coaches.”

Stats on South Asian players ‘don’t stack up’

Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett says ‘the stats don’t stack up’ when it comes to the representation of British South Asian footballers at elite level.

British South Asians are the largest single ethnic minority group in the country yet the community has been massively under-represented in the professional game for decades, with Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari describing it as the biggest statistical anomaly in football.

Speaking at the South Asian Football Network event at Leyton Orient’s Breyer Group Stadium, Burnett offered hope to those who want to see a more diverse and truly representative game by indicating the landscape around British South Asians in Football was about to “change significantly over the next few months”.

He added: “We don’t think there is a huge problem when it comes to participation at grassroots level. Where we have a problem and where we need to address the problem is that there are not enough [British South Asian players at elite level].

“And the reason for that is we have not focused enough on the talent pathways for South Asian players – male and female – getting through that pyramid, into the academies and into the professional setup.

“It’s complex when you break it down so we need to look at things like scouting networks, who is doing the scouting? We’re not necessarily saying that only South Asian scouts can spot South Asian talent but we all know that representation reflects your own personal biases

“The other challenge is how talent is assessed and developed within the academy structure. That’s owned by the Premier League predominantly.

“We’ve started to really look at with the Premier League what is going on in the academy structure. What is it in terms of the assessment, the nurturing, the development of South Asian talent that is going wrong because the stats don’t stack up in terms of grassroots representation through to the professional game, and we have to fix that.”

Leyton Orient player Otis Khan, FA Board member Rupinder Bains and West Ham academy link mentor Rashid Abba were among the speakers at the free event at the Breyer Group Stadium in the heart of east London, co-hosted by Paul Kirton and Anwar Uddin, alongside Soccer Social LDN, in association with the Fans for Diversity campaign.

There was unprecedented demand to get into the event, with people travelling from across the country to meet practitioners across the game and learn more about British South Asians in Football.

Brighton academy midfielder and England youth international Layth Gulzar, Brentford director Nity Raj and Derby County Women’s first-team coach Kiran Singh Savage were among those in the crowd, alongside Birmingham City Women’s academy full-back Layla Banaras, who was there with her family as guests of the Sky Sports and Sporting Equals partnership.

Sky Sports worked with Birmingham City to help support Banaras launch her Ramadan nutrition guide and meal planner ahead of the start of the Muslim holy month last year. The talented defender and her family brought updated versions of both the guide and the meal planner as gifts for to share with guests who attended the free event at Leyton Orient.

Sky Sports News understands that football clubs across the country are now competing to host the next South Asian Football Network event.

British South Asians in Football

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