Football Association (FA) chairman Greg Dyke said yesterday that the FA has failed to raise the number of British Asian people in football.

A delayed report into the issue will eventually be published early next year but Dyke said the statistics are a cause for concern — though strides have apparently been made by talking to Asian communities across the country in an attempt to discover why there are not more Asians playing or coaching football.

Dyke said: “The Asian community is the largest ethnic minority in the UK. From my own experiences in club football, I know the appetite is there for Asians to be involved in the game at all levels.