On this page you will find short films that tell you more about some of our pioneers and the issues they faced.
This first film features two players from the Windrush Generation, Viv Anderson and Brendon Batson, talking about their experiences when they were making their way in the game in the 1970s. A young player from the current generation, Rhian Brewster, also features speaking about his experiences of racism:
The next film is about Jack Leslie. Jack was the Plymouth Argyle player picked for an England squad in 1925 but then ‘unpicked’ because of the colour of his skin. Jack was born in London’s East End, the son of a white lady and a black Jamaican father; as he later commented about the selectors’ attitude towards his mixed heritage, “I suppose that was like finding out I was foreign.”
The following film features Peter Foley, the first black player at Scunthorpe (and also at Workington and Chesterfield, teams that are no longer in the Football League). Peter talks about his experiences of racism as a player in the 1960s, the impact it had on him and how he dedicated his life to combating it:
Finally, for a little light relief, here is a calypso about Viv Anderson, written and performed by the talented Alexander D Great with a video created by Isis Amlak.