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 ...

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

, 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

. 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

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

from

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

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,

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

. 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

References

External links

*
Anwar Uddin
on 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