The Football Association is taking new steps to address the lack of British Asians represented at every level of football.

As little as 0.3% of British professional footballers are of Asian heritage, despite British Asians making up over 8% of the population. Throughout the game, there are also a lack of Asian faces and voices in coaching, officiating and administrative positions.

After years of talking about the problem, the FA is now putting in a place a five-step programme to address the lack of representation and inspire the next generation of British Asians to break glass ceilings and make football their own.

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A key part of the campaign will focus on the importance of role models and to raise awareness of the Asian ‘success stories’ in English football. The FA has released a short film featuring four Asian role models – referee Lisa Rashid, England Women’s deaf futsal player Lucindha Lawson, Charlton Athletic Women’s manager Riteesh Mishra, and Swansea City FC player Yan Dhanda – to demonstrate there is a path to success in football for those of Asian heritage.

The FA will also make Asian inclusion a priority for local football associations – getting more young Asian players in clubs – and form an Asian female guidance group, which will inform the actions needed to embed Asian women in football at all levels.

As it stands, Leicester City's towering midfielder Hamza Choudhury is the Premier League's only player of British Asian descent – which shows just how much work football needs to do to show it's accessible to all.

This step by the FA needs to be the beginning of a long-term commitment to address one of the game's greatest inequalities.