[Archived] Asian Support

[thenodrog]

Mega complex issue this.

I think the size of the asian population in Blackburn is highly contentious but not as high as quoted. Certainly no more than 20%.

Generally asians attend many sporting events but they generally have less disposable income then the white population. Cost is therefore a bigger factor to them.

Not more than 20%? That should equate to another 3-4000 on the gate and that is certainly not to be sniffed at!

As for disposable income?!? Complete Ballax! 'Let the scales fall from thine eyes' and just ask Westwood Mercedes and Bowker BMW about that! And if you dont believe them then ask a few estate agents in town!

[thenodrog]

Interesting debate.

The main reasons that Asian people do not come to matches is a) because of a misguided fear of getting racially abused can't afford it (just like many people from other races) c) they don't support Rovers.

Kamy would you accept my suggestion that those 3 points be placed in reverse order?

The supporting bit must be highest by some distance as even buying / wearing BRFC shirts appears to be 'un-cool' amongst the IndoPak youth in this town. I may be going off on a tangent but could it be that to wear a BRFC shirt could even attract adverse peer pressure from within their own community? I only query this cos I see so few about.

[jim mk2]

... Can you believe that Shaun Wright-Phillips was rejected by Nottingham Forest because he was too small? If that sort of idiotic stereotyping/discrimination can occur, racial discrimination can do so too.

.

Not idiotic at all.

There is a saying in sport that a "good big 'un will always beat a good little 'un" and it is usually true. It doesn't always work but nine times out of ten the big guy comes out on top. Forest probably had to make a choice and they went for the big 'un.

You only have to look at Arsenal and Chelsea now; full of athletic 6 footers. The Rovers championship-winning side was a big strong team. Martin O'Neill has always had big teams - look at his side at Leicester and the way his Celtic team outmuscled Rovers at Ewood. Men against boys.

Football is littered with stories of players who were rejected because of their size. Back in the 1960s, Bolton rejected Alan Ball (one of best players to wear an England shirt) because of his size; Rovers turned down Tony Green, a skilful Scottish inside forward, for the same reason. Both players were taken on by Blackpool.

Generally, though, they are the exceptions that prove the rule. Forest rejecting Wright-Phillips because he was small was not "idiotic" and had nothing to do with stereotyping or discrimination. The odds were that he would not make the grade.

[TROOPER]

Just to clarify for some of the world-wide message board members, Blackburn's Asian population is from the Indian sub-continent & most definitley NOT from Far East Asia.

[MCMC1875]

I live near and work in one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world - Toronto - where nearly half of the population are visible minorities, and you will see that diversity reflected in both the players and the crowds for Baseball and Football. Even in hockey, where there are hardly any non-white players at any of the teams, the crowd at the Toronto Maple Leafs is surprisingly diverse.

I think the big difference is that multi-culturalism is accepted and largely embraced here,

Surely in Toronto you have a common link? You are ALL immigrants together.

E in T I dont want to offend you but you are beginning to sound like an Aussie!

The reality in Blackburn is that there is not really a multiplicity of cultures, But ROUGHLY 35% Asian 65% non-Asian. This has created an 'us and them' situation where the two communities mix like oil and water. If you want to see where the local Asian sporting loyalty lies then visit Old Trafford next time England entertain Pakistan.

[daviemac]

This is a topic which has a cyclic orbit. It appears every few months and the same old and tired plans, reasons and suggestions are made.

The people, regardless of origin, simply do not want to come and watch Rovers. Personally speaking the club have tried as best they can to tempt, tease and bribe new fans to push the turnstile.

Maybe Press Gangs should be employed!

Attention should be turned to the fans who are coming at present. We have seen dramatic falls in season tickets and attendances; the club needs to look after what it has, not what it could have.

[broadsword]

Maybe we should show Bollywood Movies prior to the kick-off?

Or have an Asian fashion show at h/t?

Or maybe turn Ewood into an Asian ghetto?

Or perhaps make the players wear turbans?

Or maybe even treat them the same as the rest of the market? Nah!

[MCMC1875]

Maybe we should show Bollywood Movies prior to the kick-off?

Or have an Asian fashion show at h/t?

Or maybe turn Ewood into an Asian ghetto?

Or perhaps make the players wear turbans?

Or maybe even treat them the same as the rest of the market? Nah!

Steady on Bryan - we've already got Balti pies!

[broadsword]

Steady on Bryan - we've already got Balti pies!

I'm so sari!

[NEARREY]

This is not linked to the Asian support but Rovers have missed a great opportunity with the forthcoming England U21 match.

With a potential 30k crowd I bet at least 15k are non Rovers attending fans, many being kids. A simple leaflet showing next few home games and prices or a £5 off a Rovers ticket/ club shop would have got a few neutrals coming down to Ewood again and a habit maybe formed.

[MCMC1875]

This is not linked to the Asian support but Rovers have missed a great opportunity with the forthcoming England U21 match.

With a potential 30k crowd I bet at least 15k are non Rovers attending fans, many being kids. A simple leaflet showing next few home games and prices or a £5 off a Rovers ticket/ club shop would have got a few neutrals coming down to Ewood again and a habit maybe formed.

Why is this opportunity missed when the crowd hasn't arrived yet?

[American]

Perhaps you might care to attend remedial classes at "Uni".

Not to be picky, but periods should go before ending quotations, even if the quotation is not for the whole sentence. For a journo, you sure make a lot of grammar mistakes on here, Jimbo.

[Duff's Minder]

The shame is that Blackburn are a community club. As a London based fan I'm always proud to show whichever Girlfriend, mate, relative I've blackmailed to come to matches with me how many girlfriends, grandmothers and kids there are in the crowd.

Almost all Blackburn fans (myself included) have links to the town (why else would we bother?) and it's a shame that one of the largest elements of the local population aren't represented in the crowd.

The number one problem is that the cost and hassle of going to Ewood (or any other Premiership ground) is way too high for what you get back. The clubs charge what they can get away with because of our emotional attachment. There is no chance of me paying what it costs to see Chelsea every week even though I love football, the only way the Asian community will come to Rovers is if we start with the kids and get some attachment.

We have a ground that holds nearly a 1/4 of the town's population in an area with more top class clubs than anywhere in the world. We can't expect to fill it unless we get a new generation of Asian fans!

[thenodrog]

For a journo, you sure make a lot of grammar mistakes on here, Jimbo.

Should that not be 'grammatical mistakes'?

[cletus]

I like the Notts Forest idea of giving every 7yr old a shirt (as there`s 2 clubs in Nottingham) Grab them whilst they`re young!! (but not in a Michael Jackson type way!! )

Why don`t Rovers consider doing something along those lines?

e.g....On every child`s 7th birthday, they get a shirt & free ticket to a game.

That could mean a hundred or more kids per game (probably more!)

Their parents/families could be offered tickets at a discounted rate. (the more tickets, the cheaper)

They could be given a tour of the stadium & even select some of them to be mascots on the day.....even a 'parade' around the pitch at half time or something (in their new rovers shirts! )

(think of it from a kids point of view....they`d feel 'special' on their birthday....hopefully become Rovers fans! )

...then think of it from a clubs point of view.....they`d be tapping into new fans, attracting families from all ethnic backgrounds & putting bums on seats!

I know dishing out shirts may prove expensive, but 'family tickets' may help to offset the initial costs.......& you have to think of long-term investment in BRFC.

That`s what Forest are doing.

[jim mk2]

Perhaps you might care to attend remedial classes at "Uni".

Not to be picky, but periods should go before ending quotations, even if the quotation is not for the whole sentence. For a journo, you sure make a lot of grammar mistakes on here, Jimbo.

Pardon?

Can you rewrite that in English please?

[blue phil]

The people, regardless of origin, simply do not want to come and watch Rovers. Personally speaking the club have tried as best they can to tempt, tease and bribe new fans to push the turnstile.

Maybe Press Gangs should be employed!

Surely in these "multi" cultural times , isn't it a little politically incorrect to try and impose our culture and traditions onto our Asian brethren ? A form of cultural imperialism ? It wasn't right in years gone by so why are we trying to revive the habit ?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

e.g....On every child`s 7th birthday, they get a shirt & free ticket to a game.

That could mean a hundred or more kids per game (probably more!)

I like that idea very much I must say.

Edited September 24, 2004 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[FourLaneBlue]

My opinion is that the best way would be to unearth a great Asian (Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi) talent. If a player of that ethnic background was playing for Rovers I expect barriers to be broken and more Asians to attend matches. There would be a pride factor. I suspect that not a huge number of Asians were into boxing but Amir Kahn's exploits have changed that.

It's a case of having to wait for them to come through as at the moment there simply doesn't seem any talented players from the subcontinent to make it in the Premiership. The captain of the Indian national side Baichang Bhutia (sp?) had a rather anonymous time at Bury. If the Indian captain can't make it happen down at Gigg Lane then what hope for the others currently playing for the national sides?

There are frequent reports of the next Anglo-Asian superstar in the making but until they change the potential into actual first team appearances in the spotlight of the Premiership we won't know if that'll be the spur to an upsurge in Indians/Pakistanis/Bangladeshis attending matches. There was a very promising player in the Leeds youth team (a midfielder I think) whom I remember hearing about as the next big thing and another at West Ham. Haven't heard about either them since.

[philipl]

This is timely! Eastern Eye have undertaken a survey looking at support for football amongst the Asian communities.

[Debs]

MCMC said:

"The reality in Blackburn is that there is not really a multiplicity of cultures, But ROUGHLY 35% Asian 65% non-Asian. This has created an 'us and them' situation where the two communities mix like oil and water."

Actually the 'reality' is that just under 19.3% of Blackburn's population is of South Asian origin (10.6% of Indian background and 8.7% of Pakistani background), according to the 2001 Census.

I lived in inner City Sheffield for 14 years in an area that was 35% Asian. My son went to a school that was 48% Asian. Since moving to Blackburn I have been amazed how completely separate the two communities are compared to where I lived in Sheffield and I do think it's unhealthy.

When talking to people about this, they always seem to lay the blame for the 'us and them' situation at the Asian community. However, surely historically there was a gradual process whereby white people moved out of Audley, Whalley Range, Bastwell, etc to be replaced by Asian people. As I understand it, those areas were more densely populated in the 50's and 60's as the first generation Asian immigrants arrived, so at that stage th two communities were living side by side. I wonder whether white people moved out of these areas because they didn't want to live along side Asian people, if it was due to the poor housing, or if there were other reasons. Certainly when I was buying my house in Blackburn there was a perception that I wouldn't want to live in many areas of Blackburn because I am white.

In terms of football support, we need to generate some fans from somewhere. People of all races seem to be staying away. I remember a few years ago the club targeted North Lancashire and the South Lakes as an area of potential support, giving away free tickets to school children and parents in Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal and Barrow. I seem to remember that being very popular with messageboard members at the time. However, applying the same approaches to an under-represented group of fans closer to home seems to be abhorrent to many now. I wonder why that is.

[thenodrog]

I lived in inner City Sheffield for 14 years in an area that was 35% Asian. My son went to a school that was 48% Asian. Since moving to Blackburn I have been amazed how completely separate the two communities are compared to where I lived in Sheffield and I do think it's unhealthy.

I suggest that it can only be something to do with guidance, policies and qualities of the respective councils down the years then.

[Paul Mellelieu]

I think the difference between cities such as Sheffield, and also Manchester for example, smaller and towns such as Blackburn and Oldham has a number of causes. There's no doubt that size is an issue, as is the respective histories of migration into cities. There are also large student populations in big cities, which add to sense of metropolitan transience which can suit migrant communities more than population-stable towns. I guess also the origins of different migrant communities plays a large role. Either way the relationships between migrant and host communities is a very difficult one, as the experienecs of the Irish and Jews in this country over the last 150 years demonstrtates. And the current tensions are a failure of politicians and community leaders, which the right will continue to exploit.

[thenodrog]

There are also large student populations in big cities, which add to sense of metropolitan transience which can suit migrant communities more than population-stable towns.

Crikey the must have a lot of students in Sheff if their population has a bigger %age student population than ours! We have masses of students in Blackburn!*

*80% of them will not be doing anything worthwhile mind.

[MCMC1875]

I lived in inner City Sheffield for 14 years in an area that was 35% Asian. My son went to a school that was 48% Asian. Since moving to Blackburn I have been amazed how completely separate the two communities are compared to where I lived in Sheffield and I do think it's unhealthy.

I suggest that it can only be something to do with guidance, policies and qualities of the respective councils down the years then.

Debs & Theno

The most objective explanation of how this crap situation came to be that I have read can be found at www.cottontown.org. My favourite quote is that of a newly arrived immigrant in the 60's who saw the terraced houses and thought they were goods warehouses!