East London is leading the rise of the British South Asian community in English football after years of underrepresentation throughout the professional game.

Sporting Bengal United, formed to increase Asian involvement in the sport, are pioneers of this rise earning promotion to step four of the non-League pyramid for the first time as well as the FA Cup.

The 2023/24 season saw a 29% increase in the amount of South Asian representation across England’s top four leagues from 16 in 2021 to 22, but there is still work to be done.

Sporting Bengal secretary Shakil Rahman said: “There was a realisation that [Asian] talent was being wasted with the [Bangladesh] divisions that existed and a solution was required to tackle these divisions.”

Sporting Bengal, based in Mile End, are the third-highest-ranked club in east London after professional outfits West Ham United and Leyton Orient.

Founded as a community club, the Bengal Tigers worked with of football organisations in the area to break into mainstream football.

In only eight years, Sporting rose from amateur Sunday league level to Isthmian League North in the semi-professional ranks. 

A total of 4.1 million South Asians live across England and Wales, and east London boasts three of the top five most populated areas.

South Asians represent 41% of Redbridge, 39% of Tower Hamlets and 36% of Newham, and the successful transition into sporting environments is smoother than some face elsewhere as many barriers have already been broken down.

Common misconceptions that South Asians would rather play cricket than football persist, yet over twice as many adults in that demographic play the latter than the former.

There are also stereotypes that their diets are not appropriate to create footballers or their families care more about education.

However, as second and third-generation families develop in England, more parents are actively involved in their children’s football and are prepared to spend time and money on coaching.

Rahman said: “In most cases, South Asian footballers do not have the physical attributes that club’s may be looking for, and therefore need to work harder to be in better shape and have to excel technically.”

Tower Hamlets and Newham Councils both run successful community programs tackling racism, inequalities and disproportionality in the boroughs.

These have allowed specific to be given to ethnically-diverse people to help them become better connected with the community and more active.

Imrul Gazi is Sporting Bengal’s most successful manager, overseeing the club’s promotion to step five as well as reaching the first qualifying round of the FA Cup in 2017. 

He said: “Sporting Bengal is a community club and, for me, it was vital we saw that being represented on the pitch. 

“As one of the only Asian managers at non-league level, if I didn’t introduce Asians kids into the club especially when, in Tower Hamlet, we have one of the biggest Bangladeshi communities in the UK, it would be wrong. 

“So, for me, that was my proudest achievement, getting kids from all backgrounds playing but most importantly having four or five South Asians in every matchday squad.”

Despite the success in east London, the numbers around the rest of the country are less encouraging as fewer than 1% of around 5,000 professional footballers in the UK is of South Asian heritage.

Only six British South Asians were given more than 90 minutes across the top four English leagues in the 2022/23 season, too.

Isthmian North league equality, diversity and inclusion director Lee Vehit said: “There are tens of thousands of talented South Asians playing the game up and down the country and it isn’t a lack of talent which is stopping them from progressing, it’s the lack of opportunity to showcase that talent.

“Clubs throughout the football pyramid need to assess and evaluate whether their clubs fully represent the areas they sit within.”

“The biggest barriers are the lack of representation and opportunity for South Asian people to enjoy the game at all levels.

“There needs to be a willingness from clubs to create welcoming environments for people of all protected characteristics in all aspects of football.”

In response to the low numbers of professional South Asian footballers, the Premier League established the South Asian Action Plan focusing on increasing representation in the academy system. 

As of April 2025, more than 3,000 children and 400 grassroots coaches have engaged in the South Asian Action Plan, with 24 Premier League and EFL clubs involved.

Gazi worked with the FA and anti-racism organisation Kick It Out over the past decade to raise awareness of issues in grassroots football, but believes there are many problems still to be irradicated.

Gazi said: “I’d like to think I played a big part in making people aware of the issues around racism within the community. 

“There are definitely still issues in grassroots football, they are just different to what they were 20 years ago.

“We’re seeing these issues in mainstream football, so what makes you think they aren’t prevalent in grassroots football? You can bet your bottom dollar, it’s 100 times worse.

“You don’t hear all of the stories because people who have experienced racism are too scared to report it because it’s too much work. 

“Nothing has changed, there is a lot of talk around dealing with racism but when a team or individual experiences it, the process is just too long. 

“It makes the victim feel like they are the ones that have done wrong. That’s how I felt each time I went through it and I know from speaking to people up and down the country, that’s how everyone feels.

“Unless it is blatant and in your face people won’t report it because it is too much bureaucracy for nothing to come of it anyway.

“There needs to be change at the top.”

The FA underlined the steps they have taken to combate discirimination at grassroots level, including a programme brought in for this season.

An FA spokesperson said: “We strongly condemn any abusive or unacceptable behaviour, either on the pitch or from the sidelines, and we have clear standards of behaviour which we expect all grassroots football clubs, coaches and players to follow.

“This season, we have introduced a new behaviour improvement programme and penalty points accumulation charges in the grassroots game, identifying the worst offending clubs for incidents of behavioural offences such as spectator behaviour and dissent, along with poor overall matchday respect scores.

“This builds on the steps taken last season to allow for deductions of league points from clubs that are repeated offenders of serious misconduct.

“This is a collective responsibility and we welcome and fully action taken by leagues and clubs to help tackle this unacceptable behaviour in our game.”

Kick It Out were ed for comment.

Feature image credit: Sporting Bengal United

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All bar one of London’s constituencies have ed an increase in the percentage of children living in absolute low-income families compared to three years ago. 

Only the Cities of London and Westminster constituency showed a decrease – a meagre 0.4% – between 2022 and 2024, with every other London area on the rise, according to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). 

The average change in this period saw an increase of almost 3.5% across London of children – defined as under-16-year-olds – living in absolute low-income families, with Ilford South, East Ham, Bethnal Green and Stepney, Croydon West surging by more than 6%. 

CEO of Child Poverty Action Group (AG) Alison Garnham said: “That isn’t what people want for the country’s kids and it’s a long way off Government’s vision of better opportunities and living standards for all.  

“London should be a great place to grow up but there are children in poverty all over the capital.”

To see the percentage in your constituency, search on the graph below:

What does this mean? What are absolute low-income families? 6e83a

The DWP states that those in absolute low income are defined as having their net equivalised income below 60% of the median income of the Financial Year End 2011.

This is then adjusted for inflation, according to the DWP website. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) equivalised income as a methodology that adjusts household income to for the different financial requirements of different types of household.  

Some key indicators are the size and makeup of the household, as living costs for adults are normally higher than for children, and larger households tend to require additional benefits. 

Further stipulations are also required to qualify for absolute low-income family status.  

The DWP also states: “A family must have claimed Child Benefit and at least one other household benefit (Universal Credit, tax credits, or Housing Benefit) at any point in the year to be classed as low income in these statistics.” 

The London Story 5x684u

This average London increase between 2022 and 2024 of nearly 3.5% more children living in absolute low-income families translates to nearly 60,000 in the capital.

The picture for London is mixed, recording some of the highest and lowest figures in the UK. 

Richmond Park, south west London, had the lowest percentage in the whole of the UK, ing 4.3% in 2024, itself the highest the constituency has seen in the previous decade.  

In the same year, the London constituency with the highest proportion of children living in absolute low-income families was Bethnal Green & Stepney, with nearly 30%.

This figure is more than five percent higher than any other area in the capital, and places it in the top ten percent of all constituencies across the UK. 

Aina Omo-Bare, Founder of Idia’s Community Kitchen, located in Tower Hamlets – the same borough as Bethnal Green and Stepney – says the situation in London is only getting worse.

She said: “I have been exposed to a lot, and I’m not going to shut my eyes to it. I know what hunger is like, because I have seen people who have gone without.

“I’m a mother, I’m human, I’ve got brothers, sister, children, nieces and nephews, and these other people are my family too.

“I would hate to see the youth of today, who are the leaders of tomorrow be destroyed by our society. So if all of us can put in our little bit, I’m sure we can make the world a better place.”

Her organisation, whose initial aim was to provide the underprivileged with hot meals, has evolved into a broader project, creating a safe place where people can come down for conversations, spend time, and get whatever help they need.

In recent years, they have focused on looking after children after they finish school in the afternoons, giving them snacks and preventing them from being exposed to young adults who are into drugs and alcohol, according to Omo-Bare.

The three constituencies which followed Bethnal Green and Stepney in the rankings were also situated in North or North East London: East Ham (24.1%), Holborn and St Pancras (23.7%), West Ham and Beckton (23.0%). 

The national context: how does London compare to elsewhere in the UK? 2l1871

London’s average increase (around 3.5%) rests just below the UK average trend in those three years (3.9%), which saw over 500,000 more children reach the threshold for living in absolute low-income families nationwide.

This meant that London ed for over one in ten children in absolute low-income families across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

As shown in the graph above, only two out of the 12 regions of the UK have a lower number of children in low–income absolute poverty families than a decade ago: Scotland with over 12,000 less, and 17,000 less in Northern Ireland – the latter a drop in 5%. 

However, in 2024, both of these areas ed an increase from three years previously in 2022, with Scotland increasing by over 5,000, and Northern Ireland by over 20,000.

Yorkshire and the Humber region recorded the highest percentage in 2024 with 26.6%, with the West Midlands in second with 25.5%, meaning over one quarter of children in these areas lived in absolute low-income families last year. 

This compared to London’s overall average of 15.1% in 2024. 

It is worth noting that only one of London’s constituencies – Bethnal Green and Stepney – recorded a higher percentage than the average of both Yorkshire and the Humber and the West Midlands.

What are some of the causes? What can be done?  4t2p4x

Two-child benefit limits affecting low-income families 3g5u60

Garnham believes that the biggest driver of rising child poverty is the two-child benefits limit forcing families – most of them working – to live on less than they need, meaning children go hungry and are cut off from opportunities like afterschool club and school trips. 

Announced in 2017, under the two-child benefit limit, families claiming universal benefit could not claim an additional amount for their third child and beyond. 

Those who were claiming benefits for more than two children before 6 April 2017, were still eligible to continue their original amount. 

Alison Garnham said: “The Government must scrap the two-child limit and step back from cuts to disability benefits.  

“Anything less and we’ll have more children going hungry and a government whose legacy will be more child poverty at the end of its first term than when it took office.” 

In a Parliament debate on the two-child benefit cap on 17 March, Alison McGovern, Minister for Employment the department’s commitment to bringing children out of poverty. 

She said: “All children matter. We are taking of a considerable range of different policy options, carefully working through the impact that they would have, but all the children in this country matter.

“As soon as the Secretary of State and I were appointed, we got to work to establish our child poverty taskforce, as promised in Labour’s manifesto, and those efforts are ongoing.” 

Housing reform 5e6i3x

Mairi MacRae, Director of Campaigns and Policy at Shelter, believes the plight of children in low-income families is intertwined with the housing crisis, and the effects are already taking their toll on London communities. 

Observing the damage it has caused in her experience with the charity, she argues the effects experienced by absolute low-income families are most visible in the poor – and often absent – standards of housing. 

She added: “Every day we hear from desperate families who are crammed into grim one-room B&Bs and hostels, often plagued by damp and mould.  

“Children are living with no space to do homework or play, having to share beds and are at risk of them and their families being moved miles away from schools and networks at a moment’s notice.” 

MacRae also blames the rise in absolute low-income families on a lack of government planning, and a lack of affordable homes for those who are struggling to cope financially. 

She said: “Only by building safe, secure, and genuinely affordable social homes will families have the foundation they need to thrive.”    

Published on 26 March, a day before the release of the DWP’s child poverty statistics, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered the Spring Statement outlining areas for growth and possible changes to the budget in the previous autumn. 

The Spending Review will take place on 11 June, setting out plans for key public sector reforms. 

A government statement read: “This will not be a business-as-usual Spending Review. 

“The government has fundamentally reformed the process to make it zero-based, collaborative, and data-led, in order to ensure a laser-like focus on the biggest opportunities to rewire the state and deliver the Plan for Change. 

“At the Spending Review, the Budget in the autumn and across the Parliament, the government will continue to prioritise growing the economy to deliver change.” 

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A ballet from The Who’s Pete Townshend produced in east London is due to launch next month. 

Quadrophenia: a Mod Ballet has been in progress for over eight years and is based on The Who’s 1973 album QUADROPHENIA and later cult classic film (1979) of the same name.

The record is the only work of the band to be solely composed and produced by Townshend, and was adapted into an orchestral score by his wife and fellow musician Rachel Fuller in 2016.

Townshend, 79, said: “When I first heard a demo of this version, without vocals, my first thought was that it would make a powerfully rhythmic and emotionally engaging ballet. 

“The themes of young people growing up in difficult times are still so relevant.

“It’s going to be poignant, tender, poetic and epic.”

The ballet is set among the mod subculture which emerged in England in the late 1950s and was typified by sharp suits, soul music and Italian vespas. 

Its were often in conflict with those of the rocker subculture of leather jackets, rock music and American motorbikes. 

The ballet follows troubled mod Jimmy who, in his search for community, leaves his job as a post-room boy and spends his time partying and picking fights with their rivals. 

It will premier on tour at the Plymouth Theatre Royal on 28 May, and will visit Edinburgh and Southampton before returning to London on 24 June. 

The production has been in rehearsals since 2023 at Sadler’s Wells East in Stratford. 

It’s the theatre’s fourth London venue and is located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. 

The 550-seat theatre was opened in 2024 and also has a dance school and training centre. 

Sadler’s Wells co-CEO Sir Alistair Spalding CBE said: “It’s an honour for Sadler’s Wells to be a collaborator and lead producer of this unique production. 

“Quadrophenia is a story crying out to be told through dance and with this talented creative team we can be sure that we can achieve its full potential.”

Alongside Townshend and his wife, the ballet has a host of established creatives behind it. 

This includes London choreographer Paul Roberts who has worked with the likes of Harry Styles, Katy Perry and the Spice Girls. 

Roberts said: “Quadrophenia has inspired me so much, bringing its legacy forward and discovering its voice in movement created so much emotive energy and ion every time we entered the workshop room.”

Roberts is ed by British fashion house Paul Smith and designer Natalie Pryce who created original costumes for the show.

The orchestral arrangement was composed by Fuller in collaboration with composer Martin Batchelar. 

It had its concert premier at The Royal Albert Hall performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Multi-award-winning director of Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet, Rob Ashford, said: “I’m excited at the idea of art forms evolving and emerging into new territory. 

“That’s certainly what’s happening with Quadrophenia.

“I’m thrilled to collaborate with these brilliant artists on this dance and theatre piece. 

“The music is timeless in its orchestral form and makes the perfect backdrop as we tell the story of Jimmy, and evoke a world of mods and rockers.”

Quadrophenia: a Mod Ballet dates and cities 5462m

28 May-1 June: Plymouth, Theatre Royal

10-14 June: Edinburgh, Festival Theatre

18-21 June: Southampton, Mayflower Theatre

24 June-13 July: London, Sadler’s Wells Theatre

15-19 July: Salford, Lowry

Featured image credit: Johan Persson

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Five London Boroughs are in the top ten local authorities for people claiming unemployment benefit, according to data published by financial website Afforda.

Newham has with the second-highest number claims per 100,000 people in the UK, with Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Haringey and Enfield all in the top ten, according to data

Afforda analysed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to find the total number of unemployment benefits claims per UK local authority and weighted this against the working age population (16-25) to calculate claimants per 100,000 residents.

GAIN Credit LLC CEO Mark Fiander said: “These figures highlight the ongoing economic challenges faced by certain regions across the UK, underscoring the urgent need for targeted and investment.

“Addressing unemployment is not just about job creation, it’s about empowering communities with the skills and resources they need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.”

Newham has experienced an increase in claims of 30.37% from 6,494 per 100,000 people in 2023, to 8,467 in 2024.

Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Haringey and Enfield all saw at least 15% increases in people claiming benefits since 2023.

Of London’s 33 Boroughs, 19 were in the top 50 for unemployment benefit claims per 100,000 people, with the following graph illustrating total claims in each area.

North east London has a highly concentrated area of people claiming unemployment benefits, with Tower Hamlets, Hackney, and Waltham all seeing over 13,000 claims in October 2024.

Daisy Ashley, 25, who was claiming unemployment benefit until last month, said that more people are on Universal Credit because of the cost of living crisis.

Ashley said: “People with full-time jobs, if they’re on minimum wage, probably still don’t have enough money.

“And that’s crazy, because if you’re working 37-hour week and you still don’t have enough to pay rent, then something is seriously wrong.”

Ashley added it was hard for young people to get jobs that they want because the job market is so competitive and employers always look for prior experience.

She said: “Every single time I’ve been interviewed it’s been ‘but you don’t have any experience’, and so that’s the biggest factor in how hard it is to find a job.”

Ashley is now working in a pub in Peckham, but has also has been able to gain experience in an office environment through volunteering secured by her job centre.

Ashley said: “If I wasn’t on Universal Credit, then I wouldn’t be able to do stuff like volunteering, because I wouldn’t have any money.”

“But it’s the only first step.”

Picture credit: Free to use from Unsplash

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Around 200 activists marched on Transport for London headquarters to demand a ‘bill of rights’ for bus drivers to kickstart their campaign.  

The organisation rallied on 5^th November to demand TfL incorporate specific rights including safe work schedules, toilets on routes and temperature-control for cabs into their framework and have promised more action to come. 

Spokesman Kevin Mustafa has been campaigning for bus drivers’ rights since leaving the industry in 2021 and warned about the dangers of inaction.  

He said: “TfL are fully aware of the institutionally unsafe environment bus drivers are working in.  

“It’s only a matter of time before there’s going to be an atrocity.”  

He claims that at least one person has died every month in London in bus-related fatalities this year, the first time since 2016. 

The first mention of a ‘bill of rights’ came in 2017, but the campaign was renewed by Mustafa after a ballot to strike was initially delayed by the Covid-19 lockdowns. 

Mustafa says TfL have ignored the London Assembly 2017 report and the investigation by Loughborough University into bus driver fatigue from 2019 which TfL commissioned.  

The 2017 report found that safety training was insufficient and that the system incentivises speed over safety and in response to the 2019 findings, TfL said they would introduce rigorous fatigue management systems.  

A spokesperson for Unite the Union who this campaign said: “There’s been a collective failure of TfL and bus companies to address this issue.”  

But Mustafa goes further and says the London model is fundamentally broken and is terrified the TfL model will be rolled out across the country, even after a former board member described it as “institutionally unsafe”.  

A petition started by Mustafa to encourage public has also garnered over 1,600 signatures within its first two weeks. 

Mustafa said he worries about the freezing temperatures for drivers in the winter and drivers collapsing at the wheel during the high heats of summer.  

He says he recorded over 44°c in the bus during one shift but was told over the radio that he must carry on.  

Many of the drivers say there is a total lack of respect and that a culture of fear stops serious problems being reported, which Mustafa blames on bus companies chasing profits.  

He said: “It’s the fat cat shareholders abroad that demand their share.”  

One anonymous driver who s the campaign says he has been expected to operate vehicles with defective brakes, no working radio and one bus that had no near-side headlight for over six months.  

He said: “I knew from training school I was getting into an unprofessional environment.”  

The driver said he and others had raised the issue about the headlight and many had refused to drive it but he had still seen it operational at night.  

He added: “The mentality is, the bus continues, the driver can change.”  

In response, a TfL spokesperson said: “Bus drivers play an essential role in keeping the capital moving.   

“Alongside bus operators, we take their safety and welfare seriously and contracts with bus operators rightly require operators to meet high standards.   

“We are working together on a range of measures to improve working conditions, health and wellbeing and are committed to ensuring that all staff have a fair work schedule, with safe vehicles and access to the facilities they need to carry out their roles effectively.  

“We encourage any driver with concerns to their employer, their union, or the Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis Service (CIRAS) anonymously.   

“We would like to reassure staff again that any reports from drivers are always fully investigated and our operators should never take action against people raising concerns about welfare.   

“We value all from the thousands of people who work tirelessly to keep London’s bus network moving and will carefully consider any proposals for improvements to safety and welfare.”  

The campaigners will rally at Speakers’ Corner on 14^th December and march on City Hall on 19^th December to hand over the bill of rights.

Featured image courtesy of Matthias Rhomberg, Wikimedia Commons

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