EXCLUSIVE: ‘I was forgotten, cast aside’: Ben Odeje was the first black man to represent England but only now – 51 years later – are the FA celebrating his achievement
- Ben Odeje is set to finally be recognised as first black man to represent England
- Odeje made his debut for England schoolboys in 1971 and played five times
- Laurie Cunningham was previously seen as England’s first black footballer
- The FA are inviting Odeje to England’s UEFA Nations League clash with Germany
- Odeje recalls the racial abuse that he received from coaches and team-mates
Ben Odeje’s story is one of racism, respect and, eventually, recognition. The 67-year-old tells a harrowing story of a fan asking him if people still lived in trees in Africa as he made his way home after a defeat in the 1970s.
‘The racial abuse was too numerous to mention. In those days it was just a free-for-all,’ Odeje tells Sportsmail. ‘Even the people supposed to be looking after you, the coaches and your team-mates, referred to you as chalky or sambo.
‘The people who are supposed to be on your side were often the biggest perpetrators. You’re trying to fight it but there’s nowhere for you to go.’
Ben Odeje is set to finally be recognised as the first black man to represent England
He then tells a far chirpier tale of hiding his kit in a dustbin to disguise the fact that he was playing every Saturday from his education-driven parents, who saw little value in the beautiful game.
‘My mum never saw me play, all she knew was that her son could play. For her, if you’ve got time to be playing football then you were a waster,’ he says.
Decades later, the issue of racism is as pertinent as ever, though the vast riches involved in football mean parents are far more open to their kids pursuing a career in the game.
And, as we sit in a restaurant in London’s bustling business district, Odeje reflects on the moments, good and bad, that shaped a career which climaxed when he was just 15 years old.
The significance of the first of his five caps for England schoolboys in March 1971 did not occur to Odeje at the time. He was just a kid from south-east London desperate to play the game he loved — albeit this time in front of 70,000 at Wembley. Little did he know he was making history.
Odeje made his debut for England schoolboys in 1971 and went on to play five times
And 51 years later Odeje’s long wait for recognition is coming to an end. As Sportsmail revealed earlier this month, the FA are inviting Odeje to England’s UEFA Nations League clash with Germany a week today as part of a move to commemorate our country’s ‘black football trailblazers’.
Laurie Cunningham was widely recognised as England’s first black footballer when he featured for the Under 21s in 1977. But an investigation by the BBC in 2013 cited Odeje, whose parents are Nigerian, as the first black man to represent the Three Lions in a schoolboy fixture against Northern Ireland in 1971.
It is important to stress there are nuances to be considered here. Former West Ham defender John Charles, who is of dual-heritage, is viewed by some as the first black man to represent England. Charles, born to a white mother and black father, played for England Under 18s in a UEFA tournament in 1962.
Laurie Cunningham was widely recognised as England’s first black footballer when he featured for the Under 21s in 1977
Arthur Wharton is widely recognised as English football’s first black professional. And then there is Viv Anderson — England’s original senior international.
They all deserve recognition. Indeed, the families of Charles and Wharton have also been invited to the Germany clash — as has Anderson.
It is to the current FA’s credit that they are marking the achievements of England’s pioneering black footballers. But for Odeje the wait has been painstaking.
‘I kept asking myself, why has it been given to someone else?’ explains Odeje. ‘The fact is Laurie and I were very good friends. When he signed as an apprentice at Leyton Orient, I was an apprentice at Charlton and we used to meet regularly.
‘We went our different ways, he went to West Brom and Madrid and I stayed here. But the thought it was given to him and everyone around south-east London knew it wasn’t him, it worried me a bit.
‘It got to the stage where my children were being called liars at school. But then the recognition was given to me by the BBC.
‘That made my kids happy and they went back to school extremely happy because they had the ammunition to show ‘Look, this is my dad’.’
Asked if waiting more than half a century for a nod from the FA took its toll, Odeje responds: ‘Yes, I was left hanging, forgotten, cast aside.’
Hopefully for Odeje that feeling will subside now his place in history is being acknowledged — thanks largely to the chair of the FA’s inclusion advisory board Paul Elliott, whose idea it was to validate England’s black groundbreakers at Wembley next week.
‘I had a conversation with Garth Crooks, who sent me the story with Ben,’ explains Elliott. ‘He said to me, ‘Paul, this moves me, surely you can correct this situation’. I brought it to chairman Debbie Hewitt’s attention.
‘She sees the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion — but also the importance of history. It’s history we cannot forget. Ben’s experiences are relatable to mine. People need to hear it.’
Former West Ham defender John Charles, who is of dual-heritage, is viewed by some as the first black man to represent England
Odeje strikes up an instant rapport with Elliott as they recount their careers. The paths are similar: both raised in south London, both came through the ranks at Charlton, both raised in predominantly black environments.
Elliott went to the top, becoming Chelsea and the Premier League’s first black captain, as well as becoming the first British defender to play in Italy and Scotland.
In contrast, after his release by Charlton as a teenager, Odeje never made the grade in professional football, instead fulfilling his mother’s dream of entering higher education while having a successful non-League career.
Neither has any regrets. Elliott enjoyed an illustrious career that saw him selected for the England squad and Odeje is just as proud of his university degree.
Odeje recalls: ‘My dad realised there was something there in football for me when I came back from Bisham Abbey for the England schoolboy trials. A few weeks later, the letter dropped to say I’d been selected.
‘But the boss — mum — wasn’t having it. I thank her for what she did because when I go back to Deptford now, I see guys I went to school with still hanging around the streets doing what they were doing all those years ago, because of the education they didn’t have.
‘But my mum made sure. When I got released by Charlton, my mum was happy. She said: ‘I told you. Books’.
Paul Elliott, FA inclusion advisory board chair, wants to validate England’s groundbreakers
‘At that time, my parents separated. I stayed with dad and my sister stayed with mum. But every morning my mum used to come and wake me up to go to school.
‘For months my mum did that, and that prompted me to go to Paddington College to do an access course, which enabled me to do my degree.
‘The release from Charlton was a blow to my stomach. They shouldn’t have. There were worse players than me, but they were a different colour skin.’
Elliott immediately interrupts: ‘I played with super talented players but my generation, through absolutely no fault of their own, couldn’t cope mentally with the racial abuse and they lost themselves in the game.
‘I’ve seen some of them over the past three or four years and they are still traumatised by that experience. They have never been the same. That’s the biggest sadness of Ben’s generation.’
Yet, with all that said, nothing can sour the memories of March 6, 1971, for Odeje. ‘I remember being in the Wembley changing room and the phone was handed to me — it was my teacher, Mr Wind. He said, ‘Good luck, son’. That made my year.
‘In the changing room, I don’t say a lot. But that Wembley game, I was so nervous. If someone would have offered me to go home I’d have said yes. I’m glad I didn’t. I was made man of the match.’
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