On the sidelines with Rise United, the football club redefining Asian identity

It’s just past noon on a caged, astroturf football pitch in east London, and Gianluca takes the ball on the half-turn, roughly six yards from the goal. Looking up to see if a pass is on, he instead sees space open up directly in front of him and goes for goal himself, sliding the ball into the bottom right corner with a nonchalant bravado.

“I swear whenever I play with you,” his teammate says. “You always score a hat-trick.”

Who’s the star player? I ask.

“Everyone,” Gianluca replies, with a wry smile. The players around him nod, as if to say: “Of course.”

Gianluca is captaining his team in a Rise United session, and is one of the day’s organisers. Altogether, there are four teams of seven, playing six-a-side matches. There’s players from a continent-spanning range of East and Southeast Asian (ESEA+) backgrounds, from Vietnam to China, via the Phillipines and Laos, while the teams are mixed gender. It’s a fun, loosely competitive afternoon of football that’s as much about a spirit of community and togetherness as it is about finding the back of the net.

Founded as London and the UK was reemerging from the pandemic, Rise United is a grassroots football club for the city’s ESEA+ community. Its name, while referencing the direction its founders are hoping the community is headed, is also a winking nod to the continent’s most consumed foodstuff – rice.

“Rise United started post-pandemic as a response to Asian hate,” explains Darren, one of Rise United’s founders and organisers. Lockdown, and the Covid-19 virus’s association with China, led to a sharp rise in anti-ESEA+ racism and violence in the UK and beyond, with Al-Jazeera reporting a 300% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021. “We felt like because of that Asian hate, a lot of us are marginalised and isolated – football becomes a solution to work together as a team for us.”

First beginning as a handful of around 10 friends meeting up to kick a ball around, it has since ballooned into a wider community of over 200 people and over a dozen heritages, with sessions taking place each Sunday. Beyond backgrounds, there’s also no consistency with skill level or football experience – everyone, of course, is a star player. There’s some who had never kicked a ball until they first took part in a Rise session passing the ball to others, like Lily and Jun, who have been playing football since they were able to run.

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“I played for a boys’ team until I was 10,” says Lili, who grew up in Liverpool and is tentatively warming up on the sidelines, having picked up an injury recently that she’s trying to manage. “Then I got scouted for a girls’ team, and we were actually pretty good – we went to a national championship and beat all of the academy teams – Liverpool, United, City – it was just a load of little scouse girls who had never done academy before.”

But while she’d reached the pinnacle of youth football, the sport had never intersected with her Chinese identity. “I grew up in a very, very white town, and I was always the only Asian on the pitch,” she continues. “One time there was a girl who was Filipino on the opposite team, and I remember that being a real thing for me, like: ‘Oh, there’s another Asian here.’”

It's an experience shared by Jun, who grew up in South Wales, before moving to London over a decade ago, and many other players on the pitch today. Despite East and Southeast Asia being home to one of the sport’s largest fanbases in the world – hundreds of millions of fans follow the Premier League in Southeast Asia – football is rarely associated with ESEA+ communities in the west, with its diaspora often stereotyped towards more academic pursuits. “I’ve played competitive football all my life, and I was the only Asian kid ever to be playing on a team,” he says. “Rise has been refreshing – it’s less competitive, and it’s more welcoming and inviting. It’s more of a community [than competitive football.”

Away from the pitch, Jun is a creative director, and he also works with Darren on their agency 1314FAMILYSTYLE. It was born out of the networks that Rise United had fostered and built – playing today are photographers, writers, producers and more – as well as its intersections with London’s wider ESEA+ creative scene. Alternative music record label and event series Eastern Margins’s own creative director, Lorenzo, also works at 1314FAMILYSTYLE.

• Read next: Inside the UK’s first festival dedicated to East and Southeast Asian alternative culture and music

“We look at ourselves as a creative midfielder,” says Darren. “We’re trying to look around to pass and support people around us so they can score goals. We work with Herac Sport, Eastern Margins, Bugeisha Club and more.”

He’s wearing an intricately designed black and white shirt, filled with a grid of the Hong Kong orchid tree taken from its flag, which was created for the annual Nations Cup, where its players gather in teams representing countries of their heritage. “This was designed by 888.msg – he’s also the art director for Margins United and Eastern Margins,” he explains. “It was inspired by the devil team in Shaolin Soccer, [director] Steven Chow changed the cinematic culture of Hong Kong – I’m inspired by him a lot.”

By combining sport, community and creativity, Rise United is one arm of a wider movement of ESEA+ people reframing Asian identity in the UK. Other sporting ventures like the aforementioned Herac Sport and FLINTA-focused club and collective BAESIANZ FC are providing spaces to loosen the limbs, while last year saw the debut edition of Margins United – Europe’s first festival dedicated to alternative ESEA+ music and arts, organised by Eastern Margins. “I think what we are now is no longer ESEA+,” says Darren. “We’re more of a third culture, we’ve become diaspora-focused, where we can mix in both east and west, and find relevant cultural solutions within that.”

As the games wind down, the teams merge into a full pitch sized game. Substitutes hang out on the sidelines, catching up with each other, sharing what they are planning to eat for dinner, and how their pets are getting on. In a giant city like London, where despite being surrounded by people constantly it’s easy to feel isolated – it’s the friendship and community that matters more than the final score.

“It’s really fulfilling and heartwarming,” says Lili. “It’s so nice to have a community here with people who have similar experiences and upbringings – I had never met so many Chinese people in my life until the Nations Cup – being surrounded by so many Asian people feels like this is how life should have always been.”

Meet some of Rise United’s players and community below.

Darren, 33

Heritage: Hong Kong. What do you do? I’m a photographer and founder of creative studio 1314FAMILYSTYLE. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? N’Golo Kanté. What dish are you bringing to the potluck? Siu Mai.

June, 24

Heritage: Chinese-German, but I grew up in the Netherlands. How long have you been a part of Rise? One year, nearly to the day. What are you bringing to the potluck? Rhubarb crumble. To me, Rise United means… Being able to connect with people other people from my heritage for the first time.

Tom, 31

Heritage: Japanese-British. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? Growing up my idol was Steven Gerrard, but in my game now I try to follow Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa. What are you bringing to the potluck? Onigiri. To me, Rise United means… A space for people to come together from different backgrounds and build something that’s their own.

Sophie, 28

Heritage: Hong Kong-British. What do you do? Creative producer and magazine editor. What are you bringing to the potluck? Some kind of tofu situation, maybe honey and soy. To me, Rise United means… Healthy energy.

Ho Yin, 20 and Sueee, 23

Heritage Hong Kong. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? Maybe Lee Kang In. What dish are you bringing to the potluck? A big pot of imitation shark fin soup. To me, Rise United means… [HY:] The chance to play football again after breaking my wrist, community, and helping me make lots of friends – even a girlfriend.

Abe, 28

Heritage: Half-Filipino, and a quarter Egyptian and Sudanese. What do you do? I work in the NHS, on branding. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? Alphonse Areola, he’s actually married to my cousin and is a massive supporter of Rise. What are you bringing to the potluck? French squid salad. Any fresh herbs you’ve got, squid, tomato, tarragon, lime.

Lili, 28

Heritage: Chinese. What do you do? I’m a producer in film and TV. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? Alexia Putellas. She’s pretty cool and good at running the mids. What are you bringing to the potluck? Probably some smacked cucumber and tofu situation.

Gianluca, 28

Heritage: Singaporean-Italian. What do you do? Planner for Hackney Council. What are you bringing to the potluck? Nasi Lemak. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? John Obi Mikel, because I’m quite slow. To me, Rise United means… A reason to get up on a Sunday morning to go and see my friends.

Mai, 31

Heritage: Vietnamese. What do you do? I have a corporate job, which I do for money, and I make ceramics. What dish are you bringing to the potluck? I recently rediscovered a noodle dish Ốc đậu chuối, which literally translates to “snail, tofu, banana”.

Miranda, 28

Heritage: Half-Chinese, half-English. What do you do? Civil servant. What dish are you bringing to the potluck? Steamed salmon, Cantonese style, with lots of chopped chillies and spring onions. To me, Rise United means… A lot of really kind and enthusiastic people who are keen to kelp each other play football, and in life.

Thierry, 32

Heritage: Vietnamese. Which footballer do you see yourself as? I’m trying to channel Pierre, our tall and handsome Scottish-Malay striker who usually tucks his shirt into his shorts. What dish are you bringing to the potluck? Baguettes and pâté. To me, Rise united means... A dream come true. I grew up in a mainly white area of the south of France, and went through stuff like casual racism on and off the pitch. Having this sort of team would have helped me, but I’m glad I found it in London.

Ricardo, 22

Heritage: Jamaican-English. What do you do? I study Japanese at university, and outside of that do directing and production work. Which professional footballer do you see yourself as? Nicolas Jackson, because I’m okay at passing and dribbling, but I can’t finish. What are you bringing to the potluck? Some really good pork dumplings.

Claire, 32

Heritage: Filipino-Chinese, and Canadian. What do you do? Product designer and DJ. What are you bringing to the potluck? A sizzling sisig platter. To me, Rise United means… Group therapy – it’s like healing my inner child.

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