Akram is breaking new ground in the GAA world

FEW and far between have stories like that of Shairoze Akram coming into Gaelic football.

Born in Pakistan, he moved to Ballaghaderreen when he was four years old. Until he learned how to speak English, he communicated by nodding his head and using hand gestures.

Twenty years later and his accomplishments speak for themselves. He was an Under 21 All-Ireland winner with Mayo in 2016 and has a degree in sports science having being offered a scholarship by DCU. He is now pursuing further studies at TU Dublin in business and entrepreneurship.

Speaking to Sky Sports recently, Akram admitted that back in 2016 he didn't really pay much attention to what his All-Ireland victory meant for minority groups. "In Mayo, All-Ireland medals are hard to come by so I was just privileged to be part of that group, like anyone else," he said. "Looking back at it now, it helped not just Asians but other minority groups, helped them get into the game and helped them see there is a way you can actually do well.

"GAA is for everyone. There is a place for everyone. You just have to work hard. If you put in the work and you're willing to work, there are people there willing to help you develop. It's a bit of a cliche, but the sky is the limit. That's how I took it, and thankfully for me it has worked out. Hopefully now I can open up a doorway for people to look up to and motivate them for their own journey."

Daunting

Speaking about his arrival into Ireland in 2001, he said: "It was quite daunting, a young person coming over to a completely new world as such. You don't know anything different bar the sands of Pakistan and the desert area where we were."

Sport allowed him to settle into life around Ireland. To break into GAA circles, one man was instrumental in setting Akram on the path to Gaelic games.

He explained: "Around fifth or sixth class, Andy Moran – a Mayo legend – used to come in and do PE lessons. At the time I didn't know anything about Andy. I didn't know how involved he was with Mayo. All the other kids would be looking up to him, whereas he was just a normal person to me.

"He encouraged me to pick up GAA, so I picked it up with a school team. I went from the school into the club scene. Originally I was no good. I didn't understand the game. I only did it because of the social aspect – to meet my friends, to be able to talk about it.

"In Ballaghaderreen, there's not a lot of players on the youth teams. You just have about 15, 16, 17 players. The first couple of years I was the only sub. So I used to get the 'sympathy minutes' in the last five, 10 minutes to get on.

"Even at that, I didn't grasp the point in putting your toe under the ball to pick it up properly. I just picked it up straight off the ground. So I used to be giving away frees the whole time.

"At the start, I was very poor. But I developed over time. It was Under 12s when I picked it up. I went from not making my club team at Under 12 to captaining the Mayo Under 16 team that won the Connaught title. Well, I was vice-captain!

"It was quite remarkable. There were a lot of mentors that helped me along."

When it came to minority groups in the game, Akram saw few individuals who he could look up to, however.

"You don't really see people of my colour or my skin in the media. You don't really see people of my colour or my skin on the TV regularly in the sport," Akram acknowledged.

"You need to get minority groups (more visible) so people, especially young people, can see people of their descent or of their colour, and be able to say 'I want to get there one day'. When I was growing up, there was none of that."

Proactive

When asked whether the GAA needs to be proactive regarding welcoming minority groups into their games, Akram feels its a 'two-way street'.

He said: "You can't just depend on somebody to get you involved. Luckily for me, they encouraged me. But at the end of the day, it was my decision to get involved.

"If you're passionate about something, or even if you just want to do it for the social aspect, there has to be a 50:50 thing where you reach out to the community and the community helps back.

"When you're coming to a new area, you're not very known. You don't know the sport or the organisation. So you need the locals to reach out and invite you to the club. But the onus is then on you to make yourself available, immerse yourself in the culture, and be a part of it."

Akram's last appearance for the Mayo senior team was in early 2018, and he appeared in both the FBD League and National League that year. Still only 24, he hopes to play a major part with Mayo going forward.

"Hopefully I can go on to represent Mayo in the near future and see where that goes. I was involved in the panel in 2018, and hopefully in the near future I can get back in there.

"I have a number of years to go, so hopefully I can play a part in helping Mayo push on and succeed in the future," he concluded.