I originally penned this piece a couple of years ago when we played our designated anti-racism game.  It is interesting, as we come to raise awareness at the Stockport game, that the Commission for Racial Equality is now looking at the lack of minority ethnics involved behind the scenes in the national game.  While there is a significant under-representation among managers, coaches and officials it is important to recognise how far we have come as well as acknowledging what is still to do.

There have been black players in the professional ranks for almost 120 years but it is only since the mass Commonwealth immigration of the 1950s and 1960s that there have been significant African-Caribbean numbers in league football.  The influx of Asians from the Indian sub-continent and from parts of Africa has not been reflected in the pro game although evidence exists to show that at the social level British Asians play in greater proportions than other Britons.

In 1887 Arthur Wharton played in goal for Preston in the FA Cup semi-final.  Wharton was the former world record holder at 100 yards and is widely accepted as the first black professional player.  His career ended at Sheffield United when the young William "Fatty" Foulke forced him out.  In1909 the black Walter Tull played for Spurs and later became the first black officer in the British Army as well as the first outfield black player.

Jack Leslie, an Anglo-African playing with Plymouth, was selected for England in 1933 but never made the team.  Thus John Parris became the first Black British international when he appeared for Wales shortly before the Second World War.  England had to wait until 1978 to see Viv Anderson pull on an international jersey.

The encouraged arrival of Commonwealth citizens after the war to fill an employment vacuum meant many black people living in the areas that were closely associated with football teams.  It might be argued that sport provided a means for the children of those immigrants to excel in a society that was not comfortable with their colour.  Today, when only a little over six per cent of the population is black the proportion among pro footballers is one-in-six.

Players such as Clyde Best and Ces Podd paved the path for this vast increase in black players.  Best regularly appeared on TV playing for West Ham along side the likes of Moore and Hurst. Podd, who made his debut for Bradford against Chesterfield, was the first black player to be granted a testimonial by the FA.  When Podd played against Chesterfield our first black player was already on the books. Jim Kabia was an apprentice at the club and in two senior seasons made eleven appearances, scoring at Hereford in 1974.  Kabia was followed by Ricky Heppolette who still is one of few ethnic Indians play in the league.  Heppolette played more than fifty times for Chesterfield.

It is now odd to think that deep into the eighties there could be Chesterfield squad photos containing no black players.  Half my thirty years watching Town have seen all white teams.  Now such a team is a rarity for although the town still has a small black population football does not.  The prevalence of black people in sport is a catalyst to acceptance and tolerance in other areas of society.

There is still racism in football as there is in society.  I heard racist songs at Saltergate only two years ago.  I can remember hearing monkey noises and "Ain't no black in the Union Jack" little more than a decade ago.  This sort of chanting is now illegal and met by the majority of supporters with repugnance.  The police have acknowledged that this overt activity is diminishing at Saltergate as supporters reject such actions.

The outright racism as seen by players in the seventies and eighties has ebbed away in the wider game.  There are few bananas thrown now and few England fans would dismiss Defoe's goal against Poland in the way the Combat 18 "fans" ruled out John Barnes' in Brazil.  This doesn't mean the battle is won.

Less than two decades ago I remember black players being accepted for their flair but the view prevailing that they were not suited to central roles; it being suggested that black players would not make good keepers or central defenders.  It was also thought that blacks would not make coaches, managers or administrators.  This now seems like a view from the dark ages.  No one I know comments on race when England picks a squad.  The days of Anderson's first cap, Blisset's first goal or Ince skippering the national side are now part of not only black history but also British history.  Brendan Batson is now a big player with the PFA while Anderson, Keith Alexander and Chris Kamara have all managed league teams.  When Ruud Gullit was appointed Chelsea manager much was made of him being from abroad and his supposed lifestyle, no one mentioned that he was the first black manager in the top flight.

Over the last three decades football has, sometimes reluctantly, embraced the developing black Britain.  There is still racism particularly higher up in administration but in most areas of the game talent matters rather than the colour of your skin.  There is still work to be done particularly to combat the extreme right-wing groups who have latched onto the innocent patriotism that can be found in the national game.

We still need to make a stand to combat racism in football and society as a whole.  I hope we look back in a decade and wonder why we had to do it.  If that is to happen we at our clubs must operate a "zero tolerance" of racist behaviour and chanting.  I am proud that our Customer Charter supports diversity and inclusion.  It is likely that the proportion of black Britons will increase.  There is marginal immigration but considerable integration between people with different coloured skin in this country.  The definition of race is a personal one. The MacPherson report suggests that a racist action is one that is so seen by the victim.  The development of society must eventually rule out racism on both moral and practical grounds.  When it is unnecessary to highlight racism by nominating games such as the Stockport one, then we will have kicked the problem out of football!

By Peter Whiteley