BRADFORD is today playing host to a groundbreaking event which aims to inspire the next generation of football coaches.

It is also hoped that the event will help to open up more opportunities within the game, in particular for players from predominantly Asian communities.

Tomorrow a number of professional, qualified coaches will arrive at Valley Parade to pass on their skills to current and aspiring coaches.

Former Everton, Bradford City and Huddersfield Town striker, now Academy coach at Sheffield Wednesday Danny Cadamateri, will be joined by former Bradford FC Academy coach Samir Butt, now coach at Bradford City Girls’ Juniors’ Football Club and Heraa Noushahi, of the Zesh Rehman Foundation, a charity which works to help change perceptions surrounding British Asians in football.

They will talk participants through training drills, as well as offering tips and techniques when working with players of all ages and abilities.

Open to all, the coaching masterclass will also seek to create opportunities to attract more black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) coaches to the game, in turn encouraging more BAME players.

Spearheading the event is former Bingley Grammar School pupil Dr Daniel Kilvington, now senior lecturer in media and cultural studies at Leeds Beckett University.

Bradford City supporter Daniel’s inspiration came as an undergraduate at the University of Sunderland, through lecturer Dr Amir Saeed, an “amazing teacher who was passionate about racial equality within sport.”

“When discussing possible dissertation topics he asked: “Where are the British Asians in football, and none of us could not answer that.”

He adds: “I played Sunday league football for ten years and I cannot recall playing against a British Asian player, and you saw few Asian professionals and fans. This garnered my interest.”

Daniel, who lives in Bingley, has spent the past nine years researching the topic and has written a book published this year, ‘British Asians, Exclusion and the Football Industry’.

In it, he draws upon case studies including London, Leicester and Bradford, where only six football teams in predominantly British Asian areas compete in the district’s three amateur football leagues. ‘Unlike cricket,’ writes Daniel, ‘Bradford’s Asian population appear somewhat under-developed in terms of football opportunities.’

He says: “It is such an important area that clubs have failed to acknowledge properly over several decades. There are major calls to bring in black managers but when it comes to British Asians it is unheard of and not talked about.

“When we consider this in terms of ethnic minorities, British Asians are the largest with four per cent of the population of England and Wales, double that of black British. Yet within football, there are so many success stories of black players but not British Asians.”

He goes on to point out that, contrary to the stereotypical view of British Asians favouring cricket, football is the number one sport, with third generation youngsters growing up with a desire to play football.

“That passion and enthusiasm is not being mirrored at a professional level.”

Partners and supporters of the masterclass include the Zesh Rahman Foundation, West Riding Football Association, the Bradford-based One in a Million charity that engages with disadvantaged youngsters through activities including sport, Bradford City FC Community Foundation which encourages ‘football minded’ people to get involved with coaching and participation and the campaigning organisation Kick it Out, which works with football authorities, professional clubs, players, fans and communities to tackle discrimination in the game.

Also playing a major role in the initiative is Shapla FC, one of Bradford’s most recent additions to grassroots football in the district, and Bangla Bantams - the multicultural group of Bradford City supporters.

Based next to Valley Parade, Beap Community Partnership - of which Shapla and Bangla Bantams form part - provides services for people of all ages, including sporting opportunities for young people.

Chief executive Humayun Islam believes the masterclass will help to raise awareness of opportunities within football for people from South Asian communities. “There will be opportunities to ask questions as well as learn from the experts.”

He stressed the value of working in partnership. “As individuals you can only do so much but by coming together we are stronger.”

It is hoped that the event will pave the way for similar ones in future. Daniel stresses that British Asians would not want to be treated as a special case but want to be included.

He adds: “You need the opportunities to be there in the first place.

“Shapla was created in 2014 and now have more than 100 children playing. There is a huge demand out there.”

*For more information contact d.j.kilvington@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or contact him on Twitter @dan_kilvington