Police and asian community are kicking-off to build relations

The two team captains with the Alliance shield ahead of last year's game.

Officers of Rochdale police force and members of the local asian community are dusting down their boots and are ready to do battle on the pitch in the hope of building relations off it.

The fourth annual Alliance football match takes place this Sunday (31 May) at Springhill Sports Centre, kicking off at 11am.

Youths from various Mosques will represent the Muslim community and they will take on the local police team.

Mr Salem Ahmed, the Marketing Director for Sports For All, who have organised the event, explained: “This project began four years ago, initiated together with former Chief Superintendent Peter Mason, who at the time was head of Policing for the Rochdale Borough.

"The annual match provides a vehicle, as well as a unique opportunity, for young men from within the Muslim community to send a positive message out to the wider community - and continue mutual dialogue between our diverse communities and the local police.

“This project is supported by key members from the community, including Deeplish Community Centre, Kashmir Youth Project (KYP) and the Community Cohesion Portfolio holder, Councillor Sharif, who have all pledged their support.”

Councillor Sharif said: "One of the main reasons I was delighted to be the Portfolio Holder for Community Cohesion is so that I could fully get involved with these types of grassroots projects.

"The Alliance match is instigated by young men from within our Asian community. They use sports to build effective partnerships with the Police. They are encouraged by a range of mosques, groups and community leaders within the Borough, giving our police the support they need to ensure we all live in safer communities.

“This project was the brainstorm of the previous Commander of Rochdale Police, Mr Peter Mason. I regularly witnessed how successful the overall Alliance was during the meetings that took place between Muslim faith leaders, community members and the police command team. I understand Mr Mason will be the referee on Sunday, still demonstrating the lengths he went to to build effective ties with all sections of the borough community."

The match will be attended by the Mayor of Rochdale Councillor Keith Swift.

The Sports for All team will be captained by Mohammad Malik, who played in the first Alliance match three years ago. He was sufficiently impressed by the Police team, and by their conduct, that he went on to successfully apply to join Greater Manchester Police.

Mr Malik said: “I joined the police because I wanted to put something back into the community.

"This Alliance project involves a representative team from the Mosques across Rochdale. It is not therefore simply a team involving the 11 best footballers from the Asian community. Rather, we select young 'leaders' from within the Asian community, who have influence and respect and who can contribute towards promoting Community Cohesion within the borough.

"The annual football match is complemented by a number of other meetings involving community leaders in partnership with the police command team. It is a great idea and one that has resulted in the removal of many communication barriers."