The Zesh Rehman Foundation launched its Sidelined-2-Sidelines initiative in association with Chelsea FC Foundation and QPR In the Community Trust on Sunday 12th May.
Fully backed by the PFA and the Premier League, the initiative is looking to provide skills and mentoring to aspiring coaches of Asian heritage.
The programme aims to increase participation levels and awareness of coaching within the Asian community in the hope that more Asian coaches will undertake professional qualifications and be inspired to get more involved within both the professional and grass roots game.
The launch event saw 25 aspiring young coaches attend a preliminary session at Chelsea's Cobham training ground with the Chelsea Foundation (Ladies First Team Manager - Rob Udberg) and 25 attend at the QPR Academy Training Ground in Hounslow.
The 50 aspiring young coaches will also get the opportunity to work closely with mentors from a host of clubs including Chelsea, QPR, West Ham, WBA, Barnsley, Fulham, as well as, experienced coach educators from the FA and PFA.
Riz Rehman of the ZRF said: "We've had a huge amount of interest from young people across London.
"The participants who have been chosen have shown a determination and passion to develop personally and acquire the skill sets to become better coaches and role models within their community.
"We have always felt that in order to see more British Asians playing within the professional game we first need to have a pool of suitably qualified coaches who can develop provisions within predominantly Asian communities.
"The support we have had from the Chelsea, QPR, the Premier League and PFA has been brilliant and we hope to deliver this initiative with other clubs across the country".
Riz Rehman, Zesh Rehman Foundation.
Head of the Chelsea Foundation, Simon Taylor said: "We hope to see many of the young people from the programme getting more involved with the coaching side of the game and working hard to develop their skills and getting their coaching badges.
"Our Asian Star programme has shown what a huge appetite there is for the game within the Asian community and it would be great to see more coaches from Asian backgrounds coming through the ranks and inspiring more and more players".
QPR's Social Inclusion Manager, Gareth Dixon said: "It's a great start to the programme.
Everyone in attendance was passionate about the programme and we at QPR are looking forward to supporting the coaches through their journey".
Raya Ahmed, 16, who is one of three females on the programme said: "I've always had a passion for playing but only recently thought about coaching when my younger brothers joined the ZRF Soccer School in Tooting.
"Having the opportunity to visit the Chelsea training ground to listen to and meet mentors who share a similar background to me has motivated me further to become a coach and role model to younger children".
Assad Farid, 18, from London Bridge said: "I first came across the work of the Zesh Rehman Foundation when Paul Davis from the PFA came to our college to talk about coaching pathways.
"I recently saw Riz talking about the S2S programme on Sky Sports News and knew I wanted to be a part of it.
"Today was inspiring for me as I met other like-minded individuals and mentors such as Liton from West Ham and Manraj from MK Dons who I aspire to be like".
Website: www.zeshrehmanfoundation.org
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