Rashid Sarwar (born 3 March 1965) is a Scottish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. He is of Pakistani descent. Although his career at senior level was short and unremarkable, he is notable as one of very few

Asian-Scots Scottish Asian (Asian-Scottish or Asian-Scots) is a term defined within the 2011 Scottish census as including people of Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani or other Asian ancestry resident in Scotland. Their parents or grandparents are normal ...

to have been involved in professional football even to that extent.

Career

Born in Paisley,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to Pakistani parents, Sarwar was signed for

by manager

Eddie Morrison Edward McCallum Morrison (22 February 1948 – 30 May 2011) was a Scottish footballer and manager. Morrison was born in Gourock, and spent the majority of his playing career as a striker at Kilmarnock, where he scored 149 goals in 341 appearanc ...

, who is said to have struggled with the spelling of his new recruit's personal details on the contract – including the local birthplace. He made his competitive debut in May 1985 in a 4–1 defeat to

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

at Rugby Park, his only appearance that season. In the next campaign, 1985–86, he made 19 league starts plus one in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

. His final game was in August 1986, a 3–1 loss to

Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...

. Having failed to keep his place in the Kilmarnock squad, Sarwar moved on to the

Junior grade A junior grade is a subdivision of a military rank, lower than the corresponding rank without that qualification. In the U.S. armed forces, the Army formerly appointed warrant officers (junior grade), and the Navy's lieutenants, junior grade ar ...

with Maryhill. He later played for

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

teams

Glenafton Athletic Glenafton Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club, based in New Cumnock, Ayrshire. Members of the Scottish Junior Football Association, they play in the West of Scotland Football League. The club has won the Scottish Junior Cup twice ...

and Largs Thistle (where he also served as a coach, and encountered racist abuse from supporters of his own team in 2001).

References

External links

* Living people 1965 births Footballers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish men's footballers Scottish people of Pakistani descent Men's association football wingers Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Kilmarnock F.C. players Maryhill F.C. players Glenafton Athletic F.C. players Largs Thistle F.C. players British Asian footballers British sportspeople of Pakistani descent {{Scotland-footy-bio-stub

Career

See also

References

External links