South Asians in Football: Hamza Choudhury's Spectacular Week, Danny Batth Shines in Norwich Debut, Exciting Move for Aqsa Mushtaq to OFI Crete
Hamza Choudhury, Danny Batth, Dilan Markanday, Asmita Ale, Aqsa Mushtaq, Shadab Iftikhar, Millie Chandarana, Mariam Mahmood, and Zahmena Malik shine in the latest edition of South Asians in Football Weekly Expertly curated by Dev Trehan, this article celebrates the success of British South Asians in the world of football
The newest issue of South Asians in Football Weekly has been released following an exceptional week for the community in the world of soccer...
Hamza Choudhury had an extraordinary week for Leicester City, starting with signing a new contract before playing at Anfield. To top it off, he celebrated his birthday by donning the captain's armband for the Foxes!
Leicester revealed that the academy graduate had agreed to a fresh four-year contract just before their visit to Anfield for the Carabao Cup match against Liverpool.
Expressing his joy, Choudhury stated, "This is a fantastic moment for both me and my family."
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"This is my home. I've obviously spent the majority of my life here around the same people in the same environment.
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"I'm looking forward to cracking on now and hopefully helping the team get back to the Premier League. To be staying here for another four years is exactly what I want."
Leicester grabbed an unexpected early lead against Liverpool in the previous week, but eventually lost 3-1 as the home team came from behind. Choudhury, who played the entire 90 minutes, fulfilled a crucial midfield holding role.
In the recent weekend, the British-Bangladeshi midfielder made a substantial contribution off the bench as Leicester convincingly triumphed over Blackburn Rovers with a resounding 4-1 victory. This win propelled Leicester back to the top of the Championship.
Choudhury, who celebrated his 26th birthday, assumed the role of an unconventional full-back and was bestowed the captaincy following the substitutions of Ricardo Pereira and Jamie Vardy at Ewood Park. Leicester emerged victorious, securing all three points. Dilan Markanday, having displayed notable performance in previous cup matches for Blackburn, made his starting appearance in that game as well.
Markanday capped off the scoring by netting his fourth goal in six Carabao Cup appearances with a calm finish, as Blackburn convincingly defeated Cardiff City.
In recognition of his outstanding performance, the attacker was chosen for the Carabao Cup Team of the Round, featuring alongside Liverpool duo Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo in a formidable front three. His contribution played a key role in securing a thrilling away match against Chelsea for Rovers.
Markanday expressed his enjoyment of the game and emphasized the team's accomplishment of scoring five goals against formidable opponents. He credited the goals to the team's diligent daily training.
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"As an attacker, goals, assists and creating chances are a big part of my game. If I want to keep getting opportunities here then that's what I've got to keep doing.
I desire increased opportunities in the future and to achieve that, I need to demonstrate to the manager that I am capable of succeeding.
In the meantime, Rovers achieved a remarkable 2-0 victory over Lewes, propelling them to the top of the Barclays Women's Championship. This impressive triumph marks their third consecutive win.
Millie Chandarana came on at the Dripping Pan, maintaining her ever-present record for Blackburn this season after starting the previous four matches.
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Asmita Ale also made an appearance during Tottenham's first Women's Super League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Ale entered the game with Tottenham trailing by two goals, and despite Martha Thomas scoring one goal for Spurs, they were unable to secure a positive result against Emma Hayes' team, ultimately losing 2-1 in the London derby.
Mariam Mahmood continued her fine start to the season with another goal for West Brom in an action-packed cup tie against Liverpool Feds.
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Fran Orthodoxou scored a remarkable winning goal in a 3-2 triumph, with Mahmood equalizing to make it 2-2, enabling West Brom to secure their spot in the second round of the FA WNL Cup. Over the weekend, Danny Batth had his debut for Norwich City in their victory against Birmingham.
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The accomplished defender, who was honored in a groundbreaking South Asians in Football Team of the Season at the conclusion of the previous season, departed Sunderland on the final day of the transfer window to join Norwich.
Batth replaced the first goal scorer, Gabriel Sara, in a 2-0 victory for David Wagner's team at Carrow Road. Jonathan Rowe also found the back of the net as the Canaries put an end to their three consecutive losses.
The centre-back, who turned 33 last month, is under contract with Norwich until the end of the season, with an option for a further year.
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Stephen Constantine, a Londoner, has been appointed as the new head coach of Pakistan. After serving as a Millwall first-team coach, Constantine will now lead Pakistan in two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cambodia next month.
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"Stephen has agreed to join PFF with a singular focus for now - to win qualifiers against Cambodia," a Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) statement said.
Constantine, who has previously managed Nepal and Rwanda, had two tenures as the head coach of India. Under his leadership, India participated in more international matches than any other manager, and he played a crucial role in helping India secure a place among FIFA's top 100 ranked nations.
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Shadab Iftikhar led Pakistan to the final in their inaugural U19 South Asian Football Federation Championship, with victories against Nepal, Maldives, and Bhutan. Unfortunately, Pakistan was defeated by India in the final.
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Shadab Iftikhar, the head coach of Pakistan U19, along with Dev Trehan from We News, was present at Ewood Park last season. In a significant achievement, Iftikhar became the inaugural British South Asian to manage in senior Scottish football. He had a six-month tenure at Fort William, a team in the Scottish Highland League, which concluded in May of the previous year.
The Pakistan U19 job is his first role since undertaking his adventure in Scotland.
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Iftikhar has made a highly favorable impression on the chiefs of the Pakistan federation and is now poised to assist the senior squad in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers next month. Additionally, Zahmena Malik played a significant role in a milestone event for Pakistan by participating in the first-ever penalty shootout for the women's team.
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After drawing 1-1, Pakistan's match with Laos went to spot-kicks, with East Londoner Malik showing no hesitation when it came to taking one.
Malik calmly scored her penalty, leading Pakistan to victory in the shootout and securing a higher position than their opponents at the six-team friendly tournament in Saudi Arabia.
OFI Crete is soon to welcome Aqsa Mushtaq, as We News unveiled the news of the attacker's upcoming return to club football in Greece.
Mushtaq, who is part of the first timeline that documents the history of South Asian heritage players in the modern women's game, played for Championship team Lewes FC in the latter part of the previous season. On Twitter
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She previously competed for Avantes Chalkida, a Greek team, where she earned the title of Most Valuable Player in the league.
Mushtaq graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University, where she achieved a remarkable record of scoring 13 goals in 17 matches during her last season at the North Carolina-based college.
Mushtaq earned the title of South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year in 2019, catapulting her career to a new level as she earned a coveted spot in Napoli. She made history by becoming the first player of Pakistani heritage to join a women's team in Italy's premier league.
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Dillon De Silva joined Torquay from QPR on a permanent deal over the summer
Dillon De Silva has made a comeback to the international scene with Sri Lanka, following FIFA's recent decision to lift the suspension on the country's football due to government interference.
In the squad for next month's World Cup qualifier against Yemen, Sri Lanka includes three players based in England. Alongside Dillon De Silva, FC Baresi's Marvin Hamilton and Aveley midfielder Garrett Clark have also been named in the squad.
