Statue dedicated to Darlington footballer who became world's first black professional is officially unveiled

Arthur Wharton, the world's first black professional footballer, spent part of his career at Darlington.

A 16ft bronze statue of the former goalkeeper was unveiled at St George's Park, the main training base for the England football teams in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire.

Among those present at the unveiling were ex-England and Newcastle striker Les Ferdinand and the former Magpies manager Chris Hughton.

The statue is a collaboration between the FA and the Arthur Wharton Foundation, which is based in Darlington.

Foundation chairman Shaun Campbell, who has campaigned tirelessly to ensure Wharton's contribution to the game is honoured, said the unveiling was a proud day for Darlington and for football.

The statue stands resplendent in a memorial garden at the sprawling 330-acre St George's Park complex, which opened in 2012.

It is positioned at the apex of a large paved St George's Cross in the memorial garden.

Mr Campbell is proud of the symbolism of having the statue positioned in such a prominent place.

He said: "I expressed my view that the best place for the statue is in the middle of the St George's Cross.

"It was important, symbolically, to have the statue rising from the centre of the cross, at the home of English football.

"What better tribute to the world's first black footballer?

"It's a really powerful statement."

The £90,000 cost of the statue has been jointly met by the FA and the sport's governing bodies FIFA and UEFA, along with a contribution from the Professional Footballers' Association.

Mr Campbell added: "For us, it was a case of football doing right by one of its own.

"I saw it very much [the authorities'] responsibility, their duty, to fund that statue.

"The installation was paid for by the One World Futbol Foundation."

St George's Park chairman David Sheepshanks said: "We want to educate and inspire a new generation of coaches and players from all backgrounds.

"This is a memorable day on our journey to doing so now the statue is up, but we don't stop here.

"Our job is to continue helping organisations like the Arthur Wharton Foundation educate the next generation about Arthur.

"As an association, we need to find ways of bringing black and Asian coaches through the ranks."

Born in Ghana in the 1880s, Wharton moved to Darlington with the intention of training as a Methodist missionary, but chose instead to become a full-time athlete.

In 1886, he became the Amateur Athletic Association's 100-yard running champion, before turning to football.

As well as playing for Darlington, he had spells with Preston North End, Rotherham and Sheffield United.

He died in a workhouse sanitorium in 1930.

The statue was created by acclaimed sculptor Vivien Mallock.

More work to be done says campaign founder

THE unveiling of the statue, which will stand as an inspiration to generations of visitors, could be seen as the crowning achievement of the Arthur Wharton Foundation.

But there is still a great deal of work to be done, according to its founder, Darlington-based Shaun Campbell.

Mr Campbell, who famously turned up at Darlington FC's ground with a bag containing thousands of pounds during its 2012 financial meltdown, is staying tight-lipped about future foundation projects for the moment.

He said: "We have an extremely exciting, certainly in my view, project moving forward, to change the hearts and minds of an entire generation through one single project, the details of which I really can't share right now.

"But it is really exciting, it is an educational programme and it is far-reaching."

Asked about the emotion of the unveiling, which was the culmination of many years of work and follows the presentation of miniature statues to the great and good of football, Mr Campbell said the achievement would take a few days to sink in.

He added: "It has been a journey to get to this point, but it was a journey that was necessary, rather than one that was great.

"It was needed and I am just absolutely delighted the North-East of England is represented in this way.

Statue could bring issue over lack of black and ethnic minority football managers to fore 

THE conspicuous lack of black and ethnic minority managers in English football will be brought to the fore as a result of the interest surrounding the unveiling of Arthur Wharton's staute.

That's according to former Middlesbrough assistant manager Viv Anderson, one of a large number of familiar faces at Thursday's (October 16) event.

Anderson, who won 30 caps for England, has been a long-time supporter of the Arthur Wharton Foundation.

Of the 92 Premier League and Football League club managers in England, only two are black - Chris Powell and Keith Curle, at Huddersfield and Carlisle respectively.

The statue dedication attracted dozens of journalists from national newspapers and TV stations.

Speaking to The Northern Echo after the ribbon-cutting ceremony at St George's Park, Anderson said high-profile events like this could help turn the tide.

He said: "It has got to bring it to the forefront, hasn't it?

"Everybody is talking about the issue and I've done interviews about that subject, so [an event like this] has got to be good for it.

"Hopefully, the statue will inspire the groups of children that will come and visit it, day in and day out.

"They'll look at the statue and go 'who is Arthur Wharton?' and go on the internet, like I did, and find out about his incredible life story."