As Black History Month 2024 runs throughout October, we take a look at some of English football’s Black pioneers from the game's history...
Arthur Wharton (1865-1930)
The Ghana-born goalkeeper is widely considered not only England’s, but the world’s first Black professional footballer. He started his career at Darlington and was also part of Preston North End’s so-called ‘Invincibles’ during the 1880s.
Wharton was quick and athletic, even setting a new world record for the 100-yard dash (ten seconds) at Stamford Bridge in 1886. On 16 October 2014, we unveiled a statue honouring him at St George’s Park.
Jack Leslie (1901-1988)
Jack was a true trailblazer in our game, scoring 137 times for Plymouth Argyle in a 14-year career at Home Park when he was the only Black professional footballer in English football. The inside-forward was born in east London and began his career at Barking, before he joined Argyle in 1921.
In 1925, Jack earned a deserved international call up for England. However, he faced adversity because of the colour of his skin; he was deselected and never played for our country. The FA subsequently awarded him with a posthumous honorary cap to recognise his career, his contribution to our game and wider society, and to right this historical wrong.
In February 2023, Jack was inducted into the National Football Museum's hall of fame.
Tony Collins (1926-2021)
Collins, who sadly passed away in February 2021 at the age of 94, became England’s first Black manager when he took charge of Rochdale in 1960. He led them on a fairytale run to the 1962 League Cup final where they lost to Norwich City.
A former left-winger who made 90 appearances for Watford, Collins received the Service to Football Award at the 2017 League Managers Association Awards. He was caretaker manager for Bristol City and chief scout for Don Revie at Leeds United. When Revie became England manager in 1974, Collins helped compile dossiers on various opponents. When one was leaked to the media ahead of a game against Scotland, Collins was given the nickname, ‘Football’s Superspy’.
John Charles (1944-2002)
The West Ham United defender first represented England's youth teams on 20 May 1962, and thus became the first Black player to feature for an England representative team when he scored against Israel in Tel Aviv in a UEFA tournament, a 3-1 win for the Young Lions.
In March 1963, the MU18s travelled for a game in Switzerland and on 21 March 1963 he was in the side that beat the Swiss by 7-1 in Bienne. He also played in and won the 16th International Youth Tournament which was held at the now extinct Shepherd’s Bush Stadium in London from the 11-23 April 1963.
John also played for Young England v England at Highbury in April 1967, when they beat the World Cup winning team by 5-0. 'Young England' was for players aged up to 23 and John was 21 on this date. He went on to play over 100 games for the Hammers before retiring. Sadly, Canning Town-born John passed away in August 2002 at the age of 57.
Benjamin Odeje (1955-)
In 2013 the FA, in conjunction with BBC London, were able to confirm the 65 year old was the first Black footballer to represent England schoolboys. In March 1971, the then 15 year old was called up for England schoolboys in a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland.
Odeje was known as ‘Pele’ by his peers after scoring almost 400 goals in youth football. He went on to play for Charlton Academy, Hendon, Clapton and Dulwich Hamlet, while after retiring he coached at Queens Park Rangers, too.
Benjamin was invited to Wembley in September 2022 for England's game with Germany when he was recognised as one of English football's Black pioneers.
Viv Anderson (1956-)
Anderson was the first Black player to win a senior England cap in 1978, against Czechoslovakia. The speedy and tenacious right-back went on to claim 30 caps and was part of the squads at two World Cups, Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986, although he didn't make a single appearance at either.
Anderson played under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest – who he has often praised for helping him deal with racist abuse – and was Sir Alex Ferguson’s first signing (along with Brian McClair, who joined at the same time) at Manchester United in 1987.
Cyrille Regis (1958-2018)
Regis scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for West Bromwich Albion and also played for Aston Villa and Coventry in the English top-flight, winning the 1987 FA Cup with the latter.
A true pioneer for Black footballers, he played alongside Lawrie Cunningham and Brendan Batson during his time at the Hawthorns, with the trio nicknamed the ‘Three Degrees’ by their then-manager Ron Atkinson.
Regis won his first England cap in 1982 in a 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland. He sadly died in January 2018 of a heart-attack, but will always be remembered for paving the way for future generations of Black footballers.
Luther Blissett (1958-)
The Jamaican-born striker became the first Black player to score a hat-trick for England, netting three times on his debut in a 9-0 victory over Luxembourg in 1982.
Domestically, he is best known for his fruitful partnership with John Barnes at Watford and spells with AC Milan (who he joined for £1 million in 1983) and Bournemouth. Blissett still holds Watford's all-time records for both appearances (503) and goals (186).
Uriah Rennie (1959-)
Uriah Rennie was one of England’s top referees. At his peak, the now 62-year-old was described by Keith Hackett (head of the Professional Game Match Officials Board) as “the fittest referee we have ever seen on the national or world scene”.
Rennie took charge of over 300 Premier League games and officiated the 2001 play-off final as Bolton Wanderers beat Preston North End 3-0 at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium. Rennie retired in 2004 and is now president of Hallam FC, who play at the world’s oldest football ground, Sandygate Road, in Sheffield. He has also been elected as an FA Council member, representing the Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA.
Kerry Davis (1962-)
The striker from Stoke-on-Trent became the first Black woman to play for England when she made her debut in 1982. Her achievements didn't end there either, as she went on to win 90 caps for England and score 43 goals, which saw her hold the title as the Lionesses' record goalscorer for many years until 2012 when former teammate Kelly Smith beat her record.
She represented England at the first women's European Championship in 1984 and again in 1987 before featuring in all of England's games at the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1995. Davis was awarded the Keith Alexander Award for being a pioneer of women's football at the prestigious Football Black List awards in April 2024.
At club level, Kerry played for Crewe Alexandra before she played in Italy with Roi Lazio, Trani and Napoli after catching the eye at an international tournament. She then returned to England and represented Liverpool Ladies and Croydon Women, where she won a league and cup double.
John Barnes (1963-)
Heralded as one of Liverpool and Watford’s greatest stars, Barnes won 79 England caps. Born and raised in Jamaica, he moved to London when he was 12 and after starting his career with Watford went on to win two titles at Anfield after his move north, with his speed and vision mesmerising fans all over the world.
He was also voted the 1988 PFA Players’ Player of the Year. Both as a player, and since retiring, Barnes has been a vocal voice on issues such as racism and discrimination, appearing regularly at rallies and as a guest on BBC One’s political affairs programme Question Time.
Hope Powell (1966-)
The 56 year old is perhaps best-known for her tenure the first female and Black manager of any England national team.
After representing England Women and proving to be a regular goalscorer throughout the 1990s during her time with Millwall Lionesses and Fulham, Powell took charge of England between 1998-2013, winning the Cyprus Cup in 2009 and 2013 and taking the team to their first major final at the European Championship in 2009.
She was also the first female ever to obtain a UEFA Pro licence –the highest qualification available to a coach in Europe.
More recently, she was head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion in the Barclays WSL between 2017 and 2022 and after being among the coaching staff for the England men's under-20s team for their FIFA U20 World Cup in Argentina, she has now joined Birmingham City as women's technical director.
Sam Allison (1980-)
The referee from Dorset became the first Black referee to take charge of a Premier League game since Uriah Rennie in December 2023, when he oversaw Fulham's Boxing Day game with Luton Town.
Rennie had previously officiated his final top-flight game in 2008. Until 2020, Allison - who took up refereeing in 2011 following a playing career with Swindon Town, Bristol City, AFC Bournemouth and Exeter City - was the only Black match official in the top four English divisions and the first since Rennie.
Following his promotion to the EFL in 2020, he became the fifth Black referee to officiate in the EFL, following in the footsteps of Rennie, Trevor Parkes, Phil Prosser and Joe Ross.
