MOMENTUM continues to gather behind a campaign to honour the world's first black professional footballer, Arthur Wharton, who hailed from the region.

Darlington FC has backed the campaign to honour its former goalkeeper, following in the footsteps of Middlesbrough FC midfielder George Boateng's message of support last week.

Yesterday, the Quakers wore Arthur Wharton Tshirts at their training session in Chester-le-Street.

Darlington businessman Shaun Campbell, the man behind the campaign, has also spoken to Ghanaian football chiefs about the possibility of staging an exhibition match involving Ghanaian and Scottish professionals.

He said the match would reflect the diverse cultural heritage of Mr Wharton, who was born in Ghana to parents with Scottish, Ghanaian and West Indian heritage.

Mr Campbell added: "The Ghanaian Football Association is very keen about the campaign.

"As it is, they have very little idea of who this hero is, but want to bring his story to the attention of the Ghanaian people."

Mr Campbell, who runs the Drum Art Furniture shop in Darlington, hopes to raise £80,000 to build a statue of Mr Wharton outside the Darlington Arena, accompanied by a bronze plaque telling the story of his life.

Darlington Borough Council has indicated it is willing to work with Mr Campbell on the project.

"We definitely support the project," a council spokeswoman said yesterday.

"Darlington Partnership and the council hope to meet Mr Campbell soon to develop a fundraising strategy for this exciting project."

Mr Campbell said they needed to move quickly before another region "lays claim" to Mr Wharton.

"We need to lead from the front," he added. "It is here where he hailed from, it is here from where he ran the 100-yard world record. He was shaped and nurtured by the people of the North-East and because of this, we must acknowledge his achievements.

"It's not a joke, it's not a fanciful dream, it's about saying here is somebody who is a Darlington hero who achieved in the face of adversity."

Mr Campbell has also recorded a song in honour of Mr Wharton, who played in goal for Darlington from 1885 to 1886, during which time he also broke the world record for the 100-yard sprint.

The song has been made available as a free download at drumartfurniture.co.uk and was written by Mr Campbell to tie in with Darlington FC's forthcoming League Two play-off campaign.