Sport & Fitness

Kick It Out’s annual week of anti-racist action begins on Monday. In addition to the usual badges, banners and messages in matchday programmes, the scheme provides grants to organisations showing how football can address issues of race and diversity. One of this year’s recipients is the West Ham United Learning Zone, where pupils are producing an artwork and photography exhibition celebrating the cultural diversity of the local area.
There is, however, a long-held notion that any rejoicing in this vibrant Little India ends at the portals of the Boleyn Ground. That although Green Street represents virtually every community from the sub-continent, the most prominent building on it is a hostile enclave of white supremacy.

According to Brian Belton, author of ‘Black Hammers’, this is a pernicious lie: ‘I started writing the book because I was sick of hearing, mostly from people who have never attended a game at the Boleyn Ground, how racist West Ham fans were and are. The most dangerous, powerful and ardent racists do not live in east London; they do not share in the radical tradition of the area; they have not been part of the multicultural socialisation it offers and they do not support West Ham United!’

Though some might question Belton’s staunch defence of his ‘manor’, what’s undeniable is that the Hammers have a long history of black players. In April 1973, they became the first top-flight team to field three in a game when Clyde Best, Ade Coker and Clive Charles starred in a 2-0 win over Spurs. The book comprises 59 profiles and interviews, from the groundbreakers of the 1960s to the present-day squad – including Bermudan striker Best who proved a potent role model for the emerging generation of black talent.

‘I didn’t see myself as a pioneer,’ says Best, who played for his country at the age of 15 and, three years later, pitched up in east London. ‘For my team-mates, for the West Ham fans, race was never an issue.'

Former Hammers defender Rio Ferdinand is a supporter of Kick It Out, his commitment shaped by an incident at Millwall when he was a kid. There’s an expurgated account in Belton’s book, while the full version can be found in Ferdinand’s otherwise slight autobiography, ‘Rio: My Story’ (Headline, £18.99): ‘A bloke in the stands in front of me was attacking a player, saying you black this, you black that. I asked a nearby copper what he was going to do about it and he shrugged his shoulders. This bloke went on and on and at one point turned round and saw me and said, “Not you, mate. It’s those black wankers on the pitch.”

’Belton’s book is not perfect – some pieces rehash old quotes, while there are glaring typos (Tottenham Hotspurs, Cyril Regis). However, it’s undeniably timely. Recent incidents at home and abroad reported on Kick It Out’s website show that the campaign is still necessary. At West Ham, however, the sentiment is clear: it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white as long as you’re claret and blue.

‘The Black Hammers’ is published by Pennant Books (£16.99). Kick It Out’s week of action: www.kickitout.org.