ABSTRACT
The paucity of British Asians in professional football first started to receive serious recognition at the beginning of the twenty-first century, as various individuals and groups sought to endorse, extend or contest the findings and recommendations of the seminal Asians Can’t Play Football report (Bains and Patel 1996). In the years between this publication and its sequel Asians Can Play Football (Asians in Football Forum 2005), the topic was analysed by academics (Johal 2001; McGuire et al. 2001; Burdsey 2004a; Burdsey 2004b; Magee and Olsson 2005), received attention from governing bodies and the media, and became a primary focus for anti-racist football organizations.
