The beers are in, the sofa has a ‘reserved’ sign on it – all geared up for the Euros Final tonight.
We will enjoy watching a diverse team that represents the many strands that go to make up England today:
Like many of this country’s most cherished institutions, this is an England team built on migrant labour. Harry Kane, who scored the clinching second goal against Germany and added two more against Ukraine, was born to an Irish father who moved to London from Galway. Bukayo Saka’s parents are Nigerian. Raheem Sterling was born in Jamaica. Ben Chilwell’s father emigrated to Britain from New Zealand. In total, 13 of England’s 26-man squad could have chosen to represent another nation.
The New Statesman
You can read more about some of the footballer’s stories here:
https://www.migrationmuseum.org/footballmovespeople/
It seems strange to think that it was only 1978 when Viv Anderson became England’s first black full international. We have added the programme from his England debut game to our site:
https://footballs-black-pioneers.com/england-1978-79/
Enjoy!