Celebrating Black excellence in English football.
Black in the Game, our new Score Gallery exhibition, showcases the cultural impact, unique achievements and untold stories of African and Caribbean communities within the English game.
The exhibition champions the historical pioneers, the Three Lions ground-breakers, and those changing the game on and off the pitch, from Premier League clubs and grassroots communities to backroom staff, match officials and administrators behind the scenes.
This exhibition has been co-curated with representatives from across football’s Black heritage community. It features iconic objects, many of which will be on display at the museum for the very first time.
Black in the Game is kindly funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Associate Professor in the Sociology of race and inclusion and is the inaugural Director of the University of Leicester Institute for Inclusivity in Higher Education.
Founder of BCOMS and Co Founder of the Football Black List. Leon also owns and runs a leading sports consultancy and production company and received a MBE in 2021 in recognition for his work promoting diversity and equality in sport and the media.
Third in the Lionesses’ all-time top scorer list and the first player of Black heritage to play for the women’s national side. Kerry was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2022.
A former player most notably with Leeds United and Sheffield United, with 652 league appearances and 194 goals in his 21 year senior career. Brian famously scored the first goal of the Premier League era.
A professional footballer with London City Lionesses and England Women. She has 74 international caps and 17 goals to her name to date, and has collected winners’ medals at each of her previous clubs.
A former professional footballer and England U21s international. Bruce made 469 league appearances with 119 goals with clubs including Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Watford, and was also Britain’s first £1m teenager.
Widely recognised as the first Black footballer to play for England’s senior men’s national team, and known for his time Nottingham Forest, with whom he won the First Division title in 1978, as well as the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.
A manager and former player with 72 caps for the Lionesses, before going on to become the national side’s youngest and longest-serving manager, as well as the first Black coach to manage an England side. She is currently Women’s Technical Director at Birmingham City.
A former English international player and manager who manages men’s Kent County League team Peckham Town. Mary was the first Black woman to captain her country, winning 65 caps in total, and was part of Arsenal Women’s golden era.
A coach and former professional footballer with 602 senior appearances at clubs, making over 100 appearances for Portsmouth and Exeter City, as well as turning out for Birmingham City, Leeds United and Stoke City. He is also a former manager of the England U19 side.
A Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Justice in Sport and Society at Leeds Beckett University. Viji focuses on the intersections of race, disability and gender through the lens of Critical Race Theory.
Daughters of the legendary Albert Johanneson, one of the first high-profile Black men to play top-flight football in England. The South African winger made just shy of 200 appearances for Leeds United, scoring 67 goals, and was instrumental in their return to the top flight.
Granddaughter of Albert Johanneson, who is recognised as being the first person of African heritage to play in the FA Cup final, in 1965 for Leeds United. Samantha was part of the Elland Road unveiling of a blue plaque in his honour in 2019.
A Level 3 referee and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager for PGMOL having previously worked at The FA and Kick It Out. He has been a match official since 2011.
A Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Sport in the Department of Sport Science at Nottingham Trent University. Anika is a Non-Executive Director at Manchester Football Association.
A community organiser, creative producer and co-founder of Barakah LDN, a grassroots community collective that aims to increase the number of Muslim and minoritised women and girls in football.
A Level 2A referee. A member of The FA Council and Co-Founder and current CEO of BAMREF, which fosters diversity and inclusion within football refereeing by empowering Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage officials.
A writer, producer and EDI Officer. Her work includes ‘Still We Roar’ which tells the unheard stories of England’s Black Lionesses. In 2022, Keah was recognised for the London Writing Award programme for young talented writers.