Burnley FC Aim To Find Asian Footballers

Burnley Football Club would like to remind interested parties that there is to be a media presentation on Wednesday morning, ahead of the event in which the Club and the International Football Institute (IFI), a partnership between the University of Central Lancashire and the National Football Museum, will publish the findings of a research project aimed at establishing why so few Asians become professional footballers. The project is part of the Club’s drive to make Burnley FC much more central in the lives of the town’s Asian population.

The media briefing will take place in the James Hargreaves Suite at Turf Moor at 9.15am, before research by Dr. Jonathan Magee and Cliff Olsson of IFI will be presented to an invited audience at 10.00am.

The study has analysed youth player recruitment and conversion rates at Burnley FC’s Centre of Excellence of players of Asian heritage and has also investigated the Burnley FC Leisure and Community Programmes with regards to ethnic diversity levels.

The report concludes that whilst Burnley FC have made important strides in their community programmes, there is a lot more that needs to be done, such as focusing more Football Development Centres in predominantly Asian areas.

Burnley FC Chief Executive Dave Edmundson commented: “Burnley Football Club takes its responsibilities to the community very seriously.

“It cannot be right that in a town with 14 per cent Asian population, over the last 10 years only 2.4 per cent of players signed at under 14 level and 1.4 per cent of under 16s have been of Asian heritage."

“The number of Asian supporters who come to matches is minimal and it is in the Club’s interest and, more important, in the interests of the local community that we address this and do something about it. I believe this report will help us do that.”

Guests invited to attend include senior officers of the Football Association, Football League, PFA, Lancashire County Council, Burnley Borough Council, Sport England, Youth Sport Trust and the International Football Institute