Chelsea Football Club’s ground-breaking Asian Star initiative has been praised by former winner Sam Khan (pictured centre) who now plays for Birmingham City Football Club’s Academy.
The aspiring footballer won the Under-9s age group in 2011 and was signed by the Midlands team soon after. He has represented the side’s academy since and has become a staunch supporter of Chelsea FC’s Asian Star campaign.
‘Winning Asian Star was very important because it boosted my confidence and self-belief. It made me feel there was a real possibility of becoming a professional football.
‘Asian Star is very important because lots of children want to play football but there aren’t many Asian children I know who play football so it’s great that Asian Star is concentrating of bringing more Asian children into the game. It helps with the confidence of Asian children and hopefully will help them achieve their dream.’
Asian Star will take place at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Bank Holiday Monday 6 May – Please visit www.chelseafc.com/asianstar to register.
Five former winners of the programme have gone on to play and train in professional club academies and this year’s winners will win a season-long placement in one of our Football Development Centres.