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GAINING MOMENTUM: Shaun Campbell, left, hands over Arthur Wharton T-shirts to Darlington captain Steve Foster and fellow squad members ahead of training in Chesterle-Street, and pictured below, Arthur Wharton, Darlington goalkeeper from 1885 to 1886
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.
advertisement
"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.
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