BT Sport today announces Standing Firm: Football’s Windrush Story, a new documentary from its award-winning BT Sport Films series which premieres on BT Sport 3 at 10.30pm on September 28, and kicks off Black History month on BT Sport throughout October.
The film, featuring interviews with the likes of Tyrone Mings, Rio and Anton Ferdinand, Andy Cole, David Lammy and Hope Powell will celebrate the legacy of the Windrush generation and examine the impact they, their descendants and continued Caribbean migration to the UK, had on English football and the national team.
With many players of Caribbean heritage – such as Kalvin Phillips, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling - propelling England to the final of UEFA Euro 2020 this summer, Standing Firm: Football’s Windrush Story is a timely celebration of the role current players are taking in the continued fight against racism in football and wider society.
Narrated by BAFTA award-winning presenter Benjamin Zephaniah, the film will delve into the history of West Indian communities in the UK, celebrating the pioneers who paved the way for black footballers in this country. To mark the film’s release, BT Sport has released a poem by Benjamin, written specifically for the film.
Benjamin explores the role the likes of Luther Blissett, Cyrille Regis, Clyde Best, Brendon Batson, Laurie Cunningham and Viv Anderson, had on establishing the Windrush generation and their descendants at the centre of the professional game. Later, he explores the growing impact Caribbean heritage had on modern English football and the national side in the 1990s with ever increasing numbers of professional players with family ties to the Caribbean, including Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand and Paul Ince who, in 1993, became the first black player to captain England.
Benjamin will also examine why football is now at the forefront of the fight for black civil rights in this country like never before with the help of a new wave of politically engaged players coming to the fore amid the recent Black Lives Matter movement. Finally, Benjamin will look at what can be done to give black coaches a fair chance whilst also hearing from the players about what they feel needs to change to combat racial discrimination in football.
Sally Brown, executive producer, BT Sport Films, said: “This film aims to shine an overdue light on how the Windrush generation changed our national game. So much has been said about the Windrush generation’s impact on areas of British life such as the NHS, and with this film viewers will gain an insight from Windrush pioneers about their families’ journeys on and off the field, and, of their place in football today. I’m delighted that this film will kick off a Black History month on BT Sport.”
This is an in-house production led by Producer-Director Theo Lee Ray, with Sally Brown its executive producer for BT Sport. Arthur Torrington (co-founder of the Windrush Foundation) is consultant on the project.
An important film about we can't wait to watch on 28th September.
But don't worry if you can't make that date, as the film will be available to customers at any time via the BT Sport App or website. Information on all BT Sport Films is available at btsport.com/films.