Zesh Rehman was the first British Asian footballer to play in the Premier League. During and since his rise to the top he has been a supporter of grass roots projects such as Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card, but last year he felt the time was right to start his own Foundation.

As he became more and more of a household name in England the number of letters and emails asking for advice and support grew continuously. So in May 2010 the Zesh Rehman Foundation was born, which Zesh runs along with his brother Riz.

“We are both very passionate about the game and know we can use Zesh’s status to help and support the next generation of youngsters,” says Riz, himself a former player with Brentford.

“The ZRF is for everyone first and foremost. We don’t want any special help just because we are Asian, there has been a lot of negative stereotypes which we want to help change and overcome”.

Eager and excited youngsters benefiting from the Primary Kick About sessions run by the ZRF

The quote on the Foundation’s website, from Zesh himself reads; “I feel it is my duty to educate the next generation of young people. They are the future and we can equip them with better tools in their armoury than a gun or a knife”.

Zesh (top, left) and Riz (bottom, second from left) playing for a local team in Birmingham

This is a sentiment echoed by Riz when outlining the work the Foundation does,

“We were founded on three underlying principles: to promote football as a tool for enhancing community cohesion, to support young Asian participation in all aspects of football and to encourage youngsters from all backgrounds in becoming positive role models inspiring future generations”.

So far most of this work has been done in the Bradford area, where the Foundation have engaged with local Primary and Secondary schools in workshops covering healthy lifestyles, nutrition and diet using the principles of football. This, along with physical activities form part of the Foundation’s ‘Primary Kick Out’ scheme.

Following the success in Bradford, the Foundation has expanded its work to schools in Manchester. The ‘On-Side’ programme aims to identify ‘Sport Leaders’ from Secondary Schools, and give them the opportunity to get involved in coaching with Primary School pupils. This sort of work hasn’t gone unnoticed by the authorities and along with Bradford City Council, ZRF are putting on a 3-day football fun day during the upcoming February half term and are expecting over 100 children to attend.

Having this range of opportunities on offer is something Riz strongly believes in given his own experiences.

“We are aware of the barriers young people face coming from ethnic backgrounds, particularly South Asian”, he says. “From a very young age we were told that we would not make it as professional footballers- ‘scared of the weather, ‘have the wrong diet’ and parents only push you towards education’. Its not easy at the age of 9 being told that you’re really wasting your time trying to pursue football as a career.”

This is where projects such as ‘Primary Kick About ‘ have come into play, and its something Riz feels is the Foundation’s biggest achievement to date.

“We took over 280 children and families to the Bradford v Wycombe game. It was nice to see Asian families watching the game and mixing with the wider community.”

The ZRF giving Asian families the access to experience live Football

In addition to this, the Foundation have seen some of their volunteers further themselves as a result of getting involved.

“We have had 5 British Muslim girls gain their Level 1 certificate in coaching football. They now volunteer for us but can use the qualification to work for teams and community centres.”

This is a massive boost for Riz as he echoes his brother’s sentiment by adding, “Its better to have youths playing in organised sports than roaming the streets”.

As part of their continued efforts to lure kids off the streets, ZRF are also in talks with a number of professional clubs, such as Rochdale and Oldham, about working with them in the future.

Of course any project such as this is bound to have obstacles, but it comes from a perhaps unlikely source in the case of the Zesh Rehman Foundation.

“The biggest problem is educating the parents and enhancing community cohesion”, explains Riz. “The parents need to understand the positive impact football can have on a young person’s life. It is imperative youngsters integrate with their peers from all backgrounds to understand and value diversity. Segregating themselves is no good for the long run”.

Integration is still a problem in this country, and parental pressure to excel at school is contributing to this, but Riz believes that football can help improve it and is hugely passionate about the idea of more pro-active minority communities.

“We need to see more Asians playing in the competitive leagues instead of playing in their own communities on a recreational level”, he says. “They need to get out of that comfort zone and play in leagues with people from other backgrounds”.

The ZRF giving young, Asian women opportunities in Football through its volunteering scheme

With such positive work being done its no surprise that people are keen to get involved with the charity, especially students.

“We’ve had everyone from junior doctors, media and photography students expressing an interest”, says Riz, and they’re always keen for people to join their ranks.

“If you want to get involved please get in touch. Although we are still in our infancy, we are looking for partners to work with. Any charity will tell you that funding is important.”

The hope for Zesh and Riz is that they can improve the lives youngsters all over the country, and as Riz says the charity may still be in its infancy at less than a year old, they’ve already taken massive strides towards taking kids off the streets and giving them hope, through football.

For more information visit the Zesh Rehman Foundation: http://www.zeshrehmanfoundation.org

Drop Riz Rehman an email: info@zeshrehmanfoundation.org

Check out their Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zesh-Rehman-Foundation/118864818167685

Follow Zesh on Twitter: @Zesh_Rehman