No Ball Games Allowed? A Socio-Historical Examination of the Development and Social Significance of British Asian Football Clubs

Abstract

This article seeks to dispel the myth that participation in football is anathema to British Asians. It argues that, not only has football become an increasingly popular leisure activity for many young, male British Asians since the subcontinental migrations of the 1960s, but also that British Asian football clubs possess a wider social significance. Firstly, the article provides a socio-historical examination of the construction of British Asians as the non-footballing ‘Other’ in ‘common sense’ racial ideologies. I then demonstrate the wider social roles undertaken by British Asian football clubs, reflecting generational differences and the diversity of post-migratory experiences and conditions. These include the role of clubs as: symbols of community and cultural resistance; as facilitating contingent cultural integration; resisting racism and circumventing the normalisation of ‘whiteness’ in mainstream amateur football structures; and expansion, partnerships and ‘glocal’ concerns. Finally, I suggest that, in the twenty-first century, football is likely to become an even more important leisure activity for young, male British Asians because—perhaps unlike other leisure forms—participation in the game enables them to resist and challenge wider social stereotypes about ‘Asianness’, particularly in relation to notions of tradition, socio-cultural integration and agency.