Anwar Uddin ( bn, আনোয়ার উদ্দিন; born 1 November 1981) is an English ´
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager and former player who works as assistant manager at
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
side
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...
. During a career which began at
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in 2001 and concluded with a season at
Eastbourne Borough from 2012 to 2013, Uddin notably represented several
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
clubs including
Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...
and
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
. He was the first person of Bangladeshi origin to play professional football in England, and, while at Dagenham & Redbridge, became the first British Asian to captain a football club in the top four divisions of English football.
Early life
Uddin was born and brought up in
Stepney
Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...
, London to a
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
i father and an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
mother. He attended
Raine's Foundation School
Raine's Foundation School was a Church of England voluntary aided school based on two sites in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England.
It was situated in the north of Bethnal Green, just to the east of ''Cambridge Heath ...
in
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
.
His father came to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
Uddin has three sisters and two brothers.
Playing career
Uddin was the first
Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
to play professional football in England
and the first British Asian to captain a football club in the top four divisions of English football.
He began his football career at
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, working his way up through their youth and reserve teams where he was captain. He was in West Ham's victorious
1999 FA Youth Cup winning squad that defeated
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
.
Although highly regarded, as a bright talented traditional English defender, he was never able to break through into the first team and in February 2002 moved to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
on a free transfer.
His stay was brief as after the collapse of
ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners o ...
, Sheffield Wednesday could not afford to keep him due to financial difficulties. He moved to
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
the following summer after only four months and no appearances. He was an almost ever present in the following season until the end of October, picking up a serious groin injury which he was to struggle with for the rest of the season. At Bristol Rovers he scored his first career goal in a 2–2 draw with
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
.
After making a few appearances the following season he was loaned out to
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
and
Telford United, and was released by Bristol Rovers at the end of the season.
During the summer of 2004, Uddin signed for
Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...
.
He became the
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the team.
At the time, Uddin was just one of only five
professional British Asians playing in the Football League and Premiership, where it is estimated that Asians only make up 0.2 per cent of players in clubs' centres of excellence and academies.
On 1 September 2009, Uddin signed on
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
for
Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley.
History
The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...
.
In June 2010, Uddin left Dagenham to sign for League Two club
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
and he was appointed captain ahead of the
2010–11 season.
He scored his first and only goal for Barnet in a 3–1 win at
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
on 8 January 2011.
In 2011, following the departure of manager
Martin Allen
Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and So ...
, Uddin was appointed as caretaker assistant-manager to
Giuliano Grazioli
Giuliano Stefano Luigi Grazioli (born 23 March 1975, in Marylebone) is an English former footballer who played as a striker from 1995 until 2009, notably for Barnet.
As a footballer he also played for Wembley, Yeovil Town, Peterborough United ...
at Barnet making him the first ever British-Asian to take up a coaching position in English football.
On 30 January 2012, it was announced that Uddin had had his contract terminated by mutual consent. A few days later, he signed for
Conference South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
side
Sutton United
Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...
.
On 28 June 2012, he signed for fellow Conference South side
Eastbourne Borough.
In June 2013, Uddin retired from football
and left Eastbourne in order to pursue a career in football coaching.
Coaching career
In 2011 after the departure of
Martin Allen
Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and So ...
from
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
to
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
, Uddin stepped into an assistant management position under
Giuliano Grazioli
Giuliano Stefano Luigi Grazioli (born 23 March 1975, in Marylebone) is an English former footballer who played as a striker from 1995 until 2009, notably for Barnet.
As a footballer he also played for Wembley, Yeovil Town, Peterborough United ...
with the club sitting in the relegation zone and on the brink of relegation. In the three months in charge of the
EFL League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club they acquired enough points to stay in the division on the last day of the season. Grazioli and Uddin also helped Barnet win the
Hertfordshire Senior Cup. Uddin resumed his playing duties as club captain with the arrival of
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer.
The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon ag ...
. Then after retiring due to injury in September 2013, Uddin returned to his first club West Ham United as a part-time coach for their
youth team
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
, working with their under 16's group.
In September 2014, he was appointed assistant manager of
Maldon & Tiptree.
In May 2015, he was appointed manager of
Sporting Bengal United.
In May 2016, Uddin left Sporting Bengal after leading the club to their record
Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...
points tally.
In January 2017, he was appointed manager of
Ware Football Club. However, he left the club in March. In October 2017 he became manager of
Glebe
Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
. He left the club in January 2019 by mutual consent and joined Maidstone United as first team coach.
On 22 May 2019,
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...
announced the appointment of Uddin of assistant manager to manager Danny Searle, whom he had worked alongside at West Ham's academy, following a coaching role at
Maidstone United.
International eligibility
Uddin was eligible to play for the national teams of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. During May 2007, he visited a youth football camp in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, with British coach Anthony Ferguson and
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...
's head of public affairs Zakir Khan.
Kazi Salahuddin
Kazi Md. Salahuddin ( bn, কাজী সালাউদ্দিন; born 23 September 1953) is a Bangladeshi former football player currently serving as a president of South Asian Football Federation. He was a member of the Shadhin Bangla ...
, the chief of
Bangladesh Football Federation welcomed him. This was the second time he visited Bangladesh since 1989, when he travelled with his father to his hometown in
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
.
Personal life
In 2002, Uddin dated
glamour model
Leilani Dowding
Leilani Dowding (born 30 January 1980) is an English former ''Page 3'' girl, glamour model, television celebrity, and the UK representative at Miss Universe 1998.
Early life
Dowding grew up in Bournemouth, and has a younger sister Melanie. They ...
.
He now lives in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
with his wife and two sons, Kai and Jayden.
Uddin is a sessional worker for
Show Racism the Red Card
Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC) is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high-profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United K ...
in the East and South-East of England.
He has a full-time role with the
Football Supporters' Federation
The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) is an organisation representing football fans in England and Wales. It campaigns across a range of issues and supports fan representation on clubs' boards, lower ticket prices, and the introduction of saf ...
as Diversity and Campaigns Manager in partnership with
Kick It Out.
Honours
He was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2022 Birthday Honours
The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...
for services to association football.
*
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
: 1999
*
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
(V): 2007
*
League Two play-off winners (Level 4): 2010
See also
*
British Asians in association football
British Asians
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying a ...
*
British Bangladeshi
British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term ...
*
List of British Bangladeshis
This is a list of notable British Bangladeshis ( bn, উল্লেখযোগ্য বিলাতী বাংলাদেশীদের তালিকা). This includes Bangladeshi immigrants settled or residing in the United Kingdom a ...
References
External links
*
Anwar Uddinon BritBangla
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uddin, Anwar
1981 births
Living people
English Muslims
English people of Bangladeshi descent
British Asian footballers
English footballers
Association football defenders
English football managers
West Ham United F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Hereford United F.C. players
Telford United F.C. players
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players
Grays Athletic F.C. players
Barnet F.C. players
Sutton United F.C. players
Eastbourne Borough F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Barnet F.C. non-playing staff
West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff
Footballers from Stepney
People educated at Raine's Foundation School
Sporting Bengal United F.C. managers
Ware F.C. managers
Glebe F.C. managers
Aldershot Town F.C. non-playing staff
Association football coaches
Members of the Order of the British Empire