Celebrating South Asian Heritage Month: Waheed's Story
From 18 July, South Asian Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the contributions those communities have made to the UK.
With inclusion and diversity critical to building a successful and thriving sport, the RFU wants to ensure people’s experience, both in the game now and those coming into it, are positive.
Three former players from South Asian backgrounds have also taken on leadership roles in rugby. To start the month, we heard Manjinder's story and last week heard from Ravi Sibal. This week, we learn about Waheed Aslam's experience.
A tricky route to training
When Waheed first played rugby, and throughout his early years, he was usually the only player of South Asian descent in his minis and youth teams.
Being the exception didn’t deter him, nor did the fact that he was always taken to Old Halesonians rugby club each Sunday by other children’s parents.
“Traditional to 70s Asian working-class families, my dad worked all hours, and my mum was a housewife who spoke little English,” he says, having decided he wanted to play rugby when a club went in to coach at his primary school and invited pupils to join.
“I played lots of sports, including the more traditional Asian sports like cricket, but my parents were happy that I was enjoying rugby.
"The club was quite a distance from where we lived and we didn’t have a car. It was quite something that they were happy for me, at seven years old, to leave the house at 7am, walk the mile and a half to my friend’s house and then be taken along to the rugby every Sunday.”
The young Waheed wasn’t half bad either. He moved to play for Moseley, went on to gain county representative honours and had England U18 trials in the late eighties. Despite being a good player, he was constantly being told he “wasn't good enough” and “rugby is not for your kind!” comments that he still remembers from opposition players, some teammates and even some coaches.
“I felt I had to work twice as hard just to get the same recognition and opportunities as other players”.
He built up resilience and comments didn’t deter him from continuing his rugby journey. He then played at Kingston University while studying Applied Chemistry and at Lancaster University where he studied for a Masters in Polymer Science.
Starting a family legacy
In the late 90s he moved to work in London, married, had three children, two boys Ossama and Faris and daughter Romeesa, and he took the boys along to his local club, Wasps FC.
A ball sailed in his direction, he caught it, threw it back, and “the next thing I knew I was coaching the U6 team!”
He coached them throughout the minis and youth levels and was soon claimed by Wasps and Middlesex RFU as Chair of Age Grade Rugby for both, and Director of Communications & Innovation for the latter. He joined the RFU’s Inclusion & Diversity Group in 2019. He still sits on the Wasps Executive Committee responsible for commercial sponsorships and advising on other aspects of running a club.
Ossama, who played as an undergraduate at Loughborough University, has also been in the Pakistan national squad since before covid and now plays for London Welsh. Faris, who studies at the University of Glasgow, now plays American football and does powerlifting for the uni.
“I don’t recall my parents ever coming to watch me play rugby,” says Waheed. “But my dad has been to watch my sons play a few times, it’s probably part of why I try to get to all the boys’ games.
“When my parents came to the United Kingdom, the key survival instinct was a strong work ethic and for their children it was education, the latter is probably a contributing factor as to why many Asian parents don’t see rugby as an opportunity. That is changing both on the playing side and administration side, especially as the values of rugby align with core Asian family values.”
In contrast to his earlier rugby career, joining Wasps has been an altogether different experience and Waheed says the club is very inclusive and welcomes people from all backgrounds. “It really helped when my sons were welcomed as part of the club, they made lots of friends very quickly.”
He believes that there has been a shift in South Asians getting involved in rugby, but not as quickly as he’d like. “There’s always more to do but I’ve enjoyed being able to speak to lots of clubs about their inclusion and diversity journeys and I’m now responsible for inclusion and diversity at both Wasps and Middlesex.
“I think when the RFU does focus on particular demographics it improves engagement, but the key is in making that engagement sustainable and working with other institutions including charities and private companies to deliver that sustainable change.
“To continue to grow the game and make it even more inclusive, we need to ensure we create an environment where everyone feels welcome irrespective of background.
“In the past few years, we’ve been seeing more and more ‘people like me’ participating and taking on administrative and leadership roles. There are a few club chairs now from a South Asian background, including the likes of Jatin Radia from Ruislip and Ravi Sibal of Anselmians both chairing their respective clubs.”
