In a time when race has sadly become as prevalent possibly as it ever has, football is trying its foremost in being a catalyst to spread awareness, and educate in hope of making the future one for the better. To go forward nonetheless, it is imperative that we know our history.
The late great Laurie Cunningham, we had been told was the first black player to represent England, as in 1977 he played at Under-21 level. Viv Anderson was the first black player to don the 'Three Lions' on his jersey at senior level in 1978, and for decades these were the only two men who were spoken of. However, before both of them, the first black player to take to the pitch at any level for England was one Charlton's Benjamin Odeje; a pacey striker who was born in Nigeria. Ben played for England Schoolboys in 1971. Wrongfully erased from history, he is still in an ongoing fight to get his desired and rightful recognition.
The current England setup is littered with black and mixed race players, and it is looking like more will make the step up within the foreseeable future. Therefore the individual who paved the way for many needed their voice to be heard. For you to now see the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and Marcus Rashford plying their trade at international level, there had to be someone who preceded them. There unfortunately had to be someone who was the first to experience the vitriol from those in attendance. Why racism is still so prominent flummox many. To say things have greatly improved is actually a paradox, as some are just covert in their mannerisms and dialogue compared to previous times. No one and I mean no one should ever be subjected to gross discrimination in their place of work.
I interviewed the 'forgotten footballer' Benjamin Odeje, to talk on his battle to be recognised as England's first black player, the racism he endured and his life post-football.
The Interview
Daniel Dwamena –
Welcome Ben, thank you very much for your time, I am extremely grateful. First of all I hope you and the family are well during these tough and challenging times.
Benjamin Odeje –
We are all surviving, thank you for having me on.
DD –
Now for anyone who did not know, Ben made his debut for England Schoolboys in March 1971, he played against Northern Ireland in a 1-0 win in front of over 70,000 people at Wembley. How did you handle that? And what exactly are your memories from that debut in 1971 for England Schoolboys?
BO –
A tough question, how did I handle it? Let’s just say when we were lining up to walk on to that famous Wembley turf, nerves got the better of me. And of course you can hear everything; the band playing, and the crowd waiting for the team to walk on. Now on that day, if someone had said to me ‘do you not want to play the game’, I would have said yes, because I was (so) nervous. When you walk onto that Wembley turf and the crowd are roaring, and the referee is ready to blow that whistle, and the whistle is blown, you are (just) thinking about your first touch. Now, if you make a mistake with that first touch the next ten minutes you can kiss it goodbye, because you will be thinking of what happened previously. But if your first touch is okay, the crowd sits there and appreciates it, (then) you are gone, (it is) great. And of course all of the noise level from the crowd disappears, and then all you can hear is your teammate calling you, giving you instructions on what to do, turn, (then) first time the ball keeps rolling.
DD –
What were things like culturally in London in the 1970’s when you came over?
BO –
The racism was rife, (much) worst than it is now. I remember my father and I walking along one day and we saw an advert on the window, which read, ‘room to let, no Irish, no dogs and no blacks, in that order’, (it was showing) dogs were more important than blacks. The Irish on top, dogs in the middle and blacks on the bottom. And at times even walking on the street some people could walk past you and call you a name that you do not like, names that I will not repeat on here, or maybe later on I will. Name-calling was quite natural to some people, and I did not really understand that, and that continued through my footballing career as well, and it is something that needs to be addressed. How? I don't really know as this has been going on for some years now, and I must admit nowadays it has simmered down but not enough. In my days we could not cry out, because who could we cry to? Some of the coaches are the ones calling you the names. In the coaches’ defence (to them) it was their way of a joke. For them, it was a joke; it was their way of introducing themselves to you. For me as a black player then, I kind of stepped over it, as I knew football was there for me to be played. So, I went out there to go and play football, anything else I just brushed aside.
DD –
So in regards to your schooldays, who helped you, who influenced you?
BO -
In regards to who helped me, how can I forget Mr Wind. Mr Wind was my teacher, my coach, my advisor, my everything at school. After my parents it was Mr Wind. Mr Wind saw something in me that other people did not see. He used to take it upon himself every Friday after school, to take us to Blackheath playing fields, and he would teach me all he knew about football, especially using both feet. I am right footed, and he would ban me from using my right foot in practice, and make me practice with my left foot. Anybody who I played with would tell you that Ben does not use his left foot; his left foot was just to stand up with, that was his pivoting foot. On my boots the left foot were screw-in studs and the right foot were rubber studs, so the left foot was just to stand up with. Mr Wind said ‘here you have to use both feet, this is what you need to do, practice and practice.
And I remember my first game for England, Mr Wind rang when I was in the changing room getting ready and he wished me good luck, and I thought Mr Wind this is for you. If it was not for you I would not be here now. So Mr Wind…yeah, number one. Mr Wind gave me a white shoulder to cry on, because he used to say ‘do not mind, take no notice, this is what you can do, show them’. There was one piece of advice he gave me, he said ‘if they are calling you names then you are hurting them, it means that you are doing well. Now if you were not doing what you were meant to do, beyond how you are doing it, then they would not call you names, so take that on board and show them that you are better than that and this is what you can do’.
DD –
So in regards again to your England debut, what racism did you endure at Wembley?
BO –
After the game at Wembley I was outside Oxford Street; standing outside a shop with a friend of mine, and a guy walked past me, looked at me and called me a ‘black bastard’. For a split second I froze. A few hours ago I was on the Wembley turf, wearing a white shirt with the Three Lions on it, I was regarded (I suppose) as an Englishman. But now I am in my street clothes, I am a black human being or a black bastard, now I could not get over that. Secondly, before that the team gathered at a hotel, we were being handed our stuff and you shake the directors hand and walk away. On my turn he gave me my bag and he said to me, ‘you are now one of us’. Now, I did not really understand that statement as I was there to play football, I was there as an English player, and he has made that statement and I did not really understand it. It is only now when one gets older you sort of read a lot into things. So does that mean then as a black person I was not a member of the England team? Or what did it mean, I still cannot understand that statement, but at the time I did not take notice, as all I wanted to do was play football. Football was something that I enjoyed doing, whether you are playing for a team, or with your friends at school in the playground, or playing for England, it is a game and my love for football was beyond racism. So for me, all the racist things that I was called did not matter, because I knew I was going out to play a game that I enjoyed playing.
DD –
How did your parents feel about your England call-up and you playing football in general?
BO –
Both of my parents disliked me playing football. They believed in the book by Betrand Russell, ’Devil makes work for idle hands’. So if you have time on your hands, you can go out there and do things, so going and playing football that is not a proper thing to do. My parents used to find an extra hour in the day to go and read, so they wanted me to go and read books for a few hours a day. My parents expected a lot from me in terms of qualification, for example a degree in law, or to be a doctor or an engineer. Originally my parents came to England and only wanted to stay a maximum of five years, or a minimum of two or three to get qualifications and then go back to Nigeria and do what they wanted to do. This is what a lot of Nigerians did, but some did not and stayed behind. So if you have a child growing up in England, you expect the same thing for them to read.
My Mum never came to see me play football, but towards the latter end, my Dad thought this child has gone this far, and this is what he wants to do, let’s support him. Given our Nigerian people, let me say where I am from, the Urhobo society, and every weekend we used to have the gathering of all the elders at our house to advise my parents to stop me from playing football. They used to say things like ‘how can you let this boy come all the way from Nigeria to come and play football?’. If I asked my Mum for £5p to go and buy a pair of football laces for my boots, she would say that she has not got it. But, if I said to my Mum that there is a science book that cost £350,000 (an exaggeration obviously), then guarantee that money would be on the table in the morning for me to purchase that book. The money would appear, but yet she could not find the money when it was £5p laces.
But I can understand what my Mum did, how many ex-professionals have something to go on to? It is not every player that retires that becomes a pundit for the BBC or work for Sky. If you have not got a paper qualification you do not know what job you will be getting, so Mum bless you for doing what you did, because the happiest day of my Mum’s life was when I graduated with a degree. And working as a schoolteacher nowadays, everyday I wake up I think of my Mum, who has now passed away, for what she did. If it was not for her then I do not think I would have a qualification.
DD -
How has the fact that you were basically erased from history until less than ten years ago impacted your family?
BO –
My girls brought tears to my eyes when it was Black History Month. One of them proudly announced that their Dad was the first black player to play for England, she said there was silence, and then a few seconds later laughed erupted around the classroom. They said that she was a liar, ‘he is not on Google, so you are lying to us’ they said. Then one of my daughters came back one day, sat me down and said, ‘Dad did you really play for England?’ And I asked her, why are you asking me this question? She said ‘well I said it at school, and all my friends laughed at me and called me a liar’. So I said yes I did play for England, and your friends who are calling you a liar, maybe they do not know what they are talking about. She proceeded to say that you are lying because they said they checked on Google. Luckily one of the parents of a child that I coach, got a friend who had a season ticket at Arsenal, and I was invited to watch Arsenal against Everton. So we sat down and we were having dinner, as the season ticket the person had this was included. There was a reporter from the BBC there who said, ‘Ben, I know who you are, this was set up so you can tell us your story’. The reporter asked if they can come down to Queens Park and do a recording of my academy Atlantic Sports Development, and I said yes. So they came and did a two-minute segment on 'Atlantic Sports Development' and me being the first black footballer to represent England at any level. So when that was released my daughter went back to school, and told them that they can check it on 'You Tube'. From that day I saw a big wide smile on all my children’s faces.
Even now there are people who still say it is Laurie Cunningham or Viv Anderson. Let me add this, Laurie Cunningham was actually a very good friend of mine, we grew up together. I first met Laurie when we went on the England trial at Bisham Abbey. Coming back to South London, we became so close that we exchanged phone numbers. He was an apprentice at Leyton Orient and I was an apprentice at Charlton, so we used to meet up after work. Sad to know he is no longer with us, what a player he was in those days. He was a special friend who passed away far too early.
DD –
So in regard to the England team as it stands now, you have a lot of black and mixed race players in and around the England squad, (and a lot of them are actually from South London), how much pride does it fill you with to see that?
BO –
Joy. There are no words that can describe the way I feel for these guys. Just to know that they may not believe this, but I opened the door for one or two players to go out there and play. It brings me back to the early days in South East London, when we used to all congregate in Hilly Fields park in SE13 where we used to play games; 10-a-side; 30-a-side during the summer months when it was still bright after 9.30-10pm. You started the game probably at 5pm in the afternoon, if you were tired or hungry you went home to eat, and then when you came back the game was still going on. If you play at that park and get away, then you could play anywhere. So it is nice South East London has produced so many of the players that are gracing the grounds of famous clubs.
I’m so happy for them that they have a voice, rather than suffering in silence, because I did (suffer in silence). Most of my peers in those days did because we did not have a body, or we did not have an avenue to go and air our views in terms of what was happening to us. Because even the television, the problem was being televised then, some of them were not TV programmes that should be shown. We had to suffer in those days, because there were only four channels, and in those days television used to sign off at midnight. On prime TV we used to have Alf Garnett, Love Thy Neighbour, programmes like that and the words that were being used, were not words that should be used, but they were used. And I remember a lady asking me something that infuriated me, she said ‘back in Africa, do you still live on trees?’ and then I paused. I then said, no we have moved from one tree to another tree, so we do not live on just one tree now, we travel. She was then so embarrassed and said, ‘I didn’t mean it like that’, and that is what used to happen in those days, she could not hide her embarrassment. Nowadays however, the black players have a voice. Raheem Sterling, standing up for himself, 'well done son', I admire you for what you are doing. During my time I could not complain to anyone, because who do I complain to? I must admit the coaches, even though they would use 'chalky' and names like that, they actually never meant it to hurt us. For some of them it’s the fear of the unknown, because they did not know what they were doing, for some of them it was joke. It was a way of introducing us to the game; it was a way of mixing with us. Some coaches will say that they don’t understand black players, they will say ‘we don’t understand why they behave how they do’, is that why you resort to calling us names that will hurt us? Having bananas thrown at you in those days, I used to pick them up, eat half of it and then throw the other half back in the direction that it came from, that is the only way that you can reply. Or the full back that was marking you, would be talking to you calling you names, they would say nasty things about your family just to put you off your game. They were the things we used to go through, the kind of racism that you would not see now and I am glad.
DD –
Do you think in regard to the lack of recognition you have had until recently, do you think that is because you were dropped (from England) without any real reason?
BO -
It could be, because I was listening to the news, and they were talking about Jack Leslie, who was the first black footballer selected to play for England, and the selectors had never seen his picture, so they never knew who he was. So when they realised he was a black player they dropped him, and replaced him with a white player. And in the same breath the newscaster said 'and 50 years later Viv Anderson became the first black player to represent England'. Now we are talking about Radio Four news at 8am. Now it is either them not admitting someone did it before Viv or Laurie, or racism is being handled in such a poor way now that they are still not agreeing to the fact that black players are now coming out or being given the right to represent England. Because nowadays you cannot see someone that is naturally gifted as a sportsperson and do not select them. Can you imagine for instance now if Usain Bolt is running for England, and he is the fastest human for a while, then you cannot look down and not select him because the world will cry out. Nowadays it is there for you to see, and you cannot turn a blind eye to something that is there so obviously for you to see he is the best person for this particular position, let’s put him in. So to answer your question (directly), that is the question you need to ask the governing bodies to see what they will come out with. I know racism here in England is being handled (quite) well, and it is only part of the other European countries that need to be educated on how to handle racism in their parts of the world. Admittedly here in England something is being done, but to say racism is going to be eradicated? Well I don’t know, it will take awhile, in fact a very, very long time.
DD -
Commentators are now being encouraged to use other words than the likes of ‘pace and power’ when talking about black players, how hard will it be for them?
BO –
Well, if every single player were described using those words then I would not mind. But it is when they use darker skin for certain words to be put on them, and other words for (players of) lighter skin, that is the bit that I do not really understand. It is going to be difficult now for commentators to use their words carefully. Because when you are speaking on something you know, and you can see why you think they are how they are, then words like that should not really matter. But it is the way black, especially darker skinned players are described in that way really disturbs me. You can use those words for any player that is quick and powerful as well, but being selective and using those words on black players kind of disturbs me. But commentators are now going to find it difficult to use words for how a player is performing.
It is a commentator’s job to describe what they see in front of them, and it is sad that they have selectively chosen black, darker skinned players to use those words on. Like I said previously, if they were used on every single player who fits that mould, black or white then it would not matter. It is the way they describe the darker skinned players that has brought this out.
DD -
Now back when you joined Dulwich Hamlet in 1974, I refer to you saying that the home games were not bad, but it was the away games that were terrible. What exactly used to go on at the away games?
BO –
It’s the fact that a ‘black’ player is actually playing and hurting a team that they support; they would do everything humanly possible to disrupt your game. Bananas would be thrown at you, money chants every time the ball was passed to you, or they would call you names like ‘coon’ or ‘nigger boy’. So you had to block those things out and perform, you had to do your best. It came to a point where it inspired me to do well, it meant that I was hurting them and that I was having a good game, because if I wasn’t then they would be quiet. So when I heard things like that, obviously I am having a good game here, so you just carry on. Dish out what you have been dishing out, it used to make me play better, but to them they thought that they were helping their team, but they were not. They are actually inspiring you; they are making you do well.
DD -
So earlier you spoke of your degree, and you also coached at QPR didn’t you?
BO –
Well…QPR; in fact I was sad to leave there, I was one of the founding members of ‘Football in the Community’ that is at Queens Park Rangers now. It got to a stage where what I helped to start off, I was not getting the call-ups that I used to get to go and coach. I was not invited to certain meetings, it got to a stage where the shifts that I was getting were not there anymore. It made me remember a book I read called ‘Animal Farm’, where some pigs were more equal than others, and it came to a stage where I was not getting anything. So I then left and that is when I set up Atlantic Sports Development, so read into that what you can.
DD –
A new scheme is being introduced to get more BAME players into coaching, as they will be given work experience at a club to hopefully give them an easier route into management. Do you think there will be a change, or is this just a form of appeasement?
BO –
There will be a change, but this particular thing is long overdue. It will help a lot of clubs, especially clubs with a lot of black players, as they will have someone to relate to. Imagine; the amount of black players that retire from the game, or are in the game at the moment…if you look at the managerial side of clubs it seems it is unfair that black players are not given enough chances to manage clubs. Why is this? If they are good enough to play, then I am sure one or two of them are good enough to take part in the managerial side of a club.
DD –
With everything that is going on at the moment, how important can football actually be as a tool in breaking racial barriers? I mean I know as well you have done so work with ‘Kick It Out’ haven’t you?
BO –
Let’s just say ‘Kick It Out’ have been doing things for a very long time now. It was only 2019 that they invited me to anything. And it was actually a parent of a child that I coach who wrote to them on my behalf. They said ‘look this guy has been working with my son, and when you look at what he has done, why have you not invited him to any of your events, can you invite him?’ Then I got an invite letter from them, I went and I was recognised by the host who mentioned my name when they were doing the introduction. And that was the only recognition that I got, and that was it, nothing more than that. It is always the parents of kids that I coach that will help to alert people to things. So I have been to 6 or 7 of their functions, but I have been a guest of a guest, who has been in like row 604 at the back. So I have been watching the dignitaries and the famous people what they have done in English football, and I am just at the back viewing them get their accolades. It is demoralising sometimes when you think that you should get something that is duly yours and it is not given.
DD -
How frustrating has the whole process been?
BO –
Too much, seriously, I have got to a stage where I feel like what else do I have to do? Because everyone that has done something for British football, they have got their reward by either being invited somewhere to be given something special and Ben Odeje; the first black footballer for England at any level has nothing. What else can I say?
DD -
Last question as I have taken up enough of your time. Activist and writer Akala tweeted Raheem Sterling and said that he and a few other black players could maybe get-together and buy a non-league club. Hypothetically of course, but how pivotal would that be to have more black people at the top of a club business wise?
BO –
Collectively if black players get-together and do it, it would be nice, if an individual decided to, then it would not amount to anything. But if the black players decide to have a union and say let us get-together and say let us do this for ourselves, and the players that are coming up behind us, it would be a very good thing to do. However at the moment is there a united nation with all the black players that are around? Will there be enough of them getting together to form this? I do not know.
DD –
Thank you very much for your time Ben, I know you are a busy man. We need your legacy to be known, so we just wanted to give you a platform to do it on. So the people know that you are a trailblazer who paved the way for what we have here today, with more and more black players in England. And we can only hope that racism can improve.
BO –
Thanks for having me.
To listen to the 90-minute interview in full, then please click on the link below,
Do not forget if you are a parent and have a child between 4 and 15, and they are serious about wanting to play football, and they can easily get to Queens Park ('NW6') then please get in touch with Ben's academy. 'Atlantic Sports Development', when given the green light after the pandemic will be running again on Saturday mornings with their 90-minute training sessions.
For any further information please go to http://asdfc.uk/
Daniel Dwamena
@DubulDee
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