Building Belonging Through Football | Abdul Malik Ahad | Football for Breakfast

Abdul Malik Ahad arrived in England on Christmas Day 1979. He was seven years old. He hid under his auntie's poncho at Heathrow because he had never felt cold like it. A few years later, aged ten, he found himself surrounded by football fans near Shore Road in Oldham on a Saturday afternoon before a match. A skinhead put a beer can on his head and smashed it. He ran. That was the backdrop to football for the British Bangladeshi community in Oldham in the early 1980s. You watched from home. You kept the shutters down. But Abdul didn't let it stop him. He built something else. In episode nine of Football for Breakfast, Jim Johnson sits down with Abdul in the greasy spoon cafe to talk about belonging, community and what football does when the game that's supposed to bring everyone together isn't yet safe to attend. They talk about the 5-a-side and 7-a-side tournaments Abdul helped organise for the Bangladeshi Youth Movement - competitions that started as a way of finding a safe space and became fiercer and more meaningful than anyone expected. A community building itself from the inside out because no one else was going to build it for them. In the second half Abdul talks about a career from community cohesion manager in Oldham after the 2001 disturbances to CEO of Steve Biko Housing Association in Liverpool - one of only two Black and Racial Minority housing associations on Merseyside, built on the mission of homes and communities without racism. The skills he developed organising those football tournaments are the same skills he uses now. He brings a Liverpool Premier League champions t-shirt to the table. The one his community couldn't celebrate in 2020 because Covid hit. So they waited. Then thirty Bangladeshi Reds got together at a restaurant in Oldham and finally let it out. Two years late. Twice as good. Jim closes: proof that the people who had to build their own game from scratch are usually the ones who understand it the most. This is Football for Breakfast. Cafes. Clubs. Communities. Culture. --- ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:33 Welcome to Football for Breakfast 00:59 Roy of the Rovers - playoffs, spying and the richest prize in football 02:38 Arriving in England on Christmas Day 1979 03:52 Shore Road, Oldham and why the shutters came down 05:36 Surrounded by football fans at ten years old 06:34 The beer can, the skinhead and running home 07:32 Watching football from home - his uncle's radio TV 08:01 How football has changed - families and inclusion 09:46 Kick It Out and football as a reflection of society 11:38 Westwood Wanderers, Unity FC and the 5-a-side tournaments 12:14 Building belonging - economic migrants and self-help communities 13:46 The tournaments that became more than football 14:42 Regional rivalries from back home in Bangladesh 15:41 OSS Security - presented by OSS Security 17:25 Steve Biko Housing Association - homes and communities without racism 18:01 Social housing, affordability and the housing waiting list 20:49 Right to buy, Thatcher and what happened to supply 21:48 Why Abdul chose Steve Biko 23:12 Building through partnerships 24:05 Community cohesion - activism at a policy level 25:16 The 2001 Oldham disturbances and community cohesion manager 26:04 Leadership for the whole community, not just your own 27:51 Rolling Man United fans down the hill after every Liverpool win 28:39 Driving past Anfield - filled with pride 29:42 The Liverpool champions t-shirt - why they couldn't celebrate in 2020 30:55 Thirty Bangladeshi Reds and finally letting it out 32:22 Penalty shootout - five quickfire questions 33:07 One result he'll never get over - Oldham Athletic v Man United 33:24 Abdul becomes a Good Companion --- 🎙 ABOUT ABDUL MALIK AHAD Abdul Malik Ahad is CEO of Steve Biko Housing Association in Liverpool - one of only two Black and Racial Minority housing associations on Merseyside, built on the mission of homes and communities without racism. 🔗 LINKS Steve Biko Housing Association: stevebikoha.org OSS Security: osssecurity.com Football for Breakfast newsletter: footballforbreakfastpod.com/newsletter 🎧 Search Football for Breakfast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Football for Breakfast is a production by The Good Companions, presented by OSS Security. New episode every Tuesday morning. #FootballForBreakfast #AbdulMalikAhad #BritishBangladeshi #FootballCulture #Community #LiverpoolFC #OldhamAthletic #SocialHousing #SteveBiko #FootballPodcast #GoodCompanions #Belonging #Inclusion