This is the story of Black footballers in the English game. This is our sporting history, this is yours.

In Episode 6, the final episode of the series, It’s a new millennium, and some of the biggest superstars in the English game are Black or Mixed Race. These players, the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford, are now striving to overcome new obstacles, in the spirit of those trailblazers who came before them. The Noughties and 2010's was the era which fully cemented the English top flight as the global league of nations - filled to the brim with talent from the four corners of the Earth.

And many of the biggest and brightest stars were Black...BUT the lack of representation in the dugout and the boardroom, tempered with the resurfacing of racial abuse via social media and the unconscious bias from sections of the sports media began to surface.

They are trailblazers and history makers. Players who made a place for themselves, and the Black and Mixed Race footballers who would follow them.

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This is the story of Black footballers in the English game. This is our sporting history, this is yours.

In Episode 5, we’ll head into possibly the most transformative period of time for the national game. The 1990s...

When the game was rebooted off the back of the national team being a force once again in major tournaments; the Premier League was born; and a new age of superstar overseas talent changed English football for good. The changing perception of the Black footballer in England would be personified by a player who brought the streets to stadiums - and inspired generations... Ian Wright.

We tell the story of how Paul Ince became the first Black England captain, Andy Cole winning every domestic honour, and being a part of that treble winning team & Les Ferdinand, the icon who's impact and influence is still felt in the game now, PLUS the formation of Kick It Out, founded by Lord Herman Ouseley.

They are trailblazers and history makers. Players who made a place for themselves, and the Black and Mixed Race footballers who would follow them.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the story of Black footballers in the English game. This is our sporting history, this is yours.

In episode 4 you'll find out about how Black players finally got national and international recognition by playing for England, as we learn about a group of players who survived and thrived in the 1980s. The 80s were seen as a dark period of English football, a decade characterised by images of violent, racist fans running riot across crumbling terraces. This was a period of immense change for Black footballers, as It was one which proved that Black talent was a force to be reckoned with, at home and abroad. We tell the story of Viv Anderson, the first Black player to represent England at senior level. Chelsea’s first Black player, Paul Canoville, who was racially abused by players and his own fans. Justin Fashanu, the first £1m Black footballer, and the 1st player to come out as gay. John Fashanu, the Wimbledon striker and leader of the ‘Crazy Gang’, and John Barnes, the Watford and Liverpool winger, who was the first Black player to become a regular for England, and play in a major tournament for England at the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

They are trailblazers and history makers. Players who made a place for themselves, and the Black and Mixed Race footballers who would follow them.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.