Tackling Racism - The Story of Albert Johanneson

Update on Albert Johanneson: Albert died in 1995. If you have any memories or stories about him while he played for Leeds please tell us by emailing webmaster@football4community.co.uk. 

Albert Johanneson was the first black African footballer to play in an FA Cup Final - for Leeds United - in the final in 1965. Born under apartheid in one of the townships of South Africa in 1940, he played for Leeds between 1961 and 1970 under Don Revie and had a big influence in winning promotion to the First Division in 1964. He died in poverty in Leeds in 1995. He  was a humble man and a brilliant footballer. He was an inspirational figure paving the way for the generation of black footballers who now enrich he game. His life story influenced the fight again racism, and in 1969 the Leeds Civic Trust unveiled a Blue Plaque in his honour, placed at the East Stand at the Elland Road Stadium.  The Leader of Leeds City Council,  Judith Blake,  said that Johanneson's impact should never be forgotten, and the Leeds United MD, Angus Kinnear,  said that he was a massive part of the history of Leeds United. He was buried in Lawnswood Cemetery in Leeds and his gravestone has the words of a poem by Maya Angelou, chosen by his daughters: 

I rise up from a past that’s rooted in pain/ I rise/ I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. 

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear /I rise /Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear / I rise 

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, /I rise /  I am the dream and the hope of the slave. 

I rise I rise I rise.

Listen to his story here, and see under Resources how football continues to oppose racism through the organisation Kick it Out and other pressure groups in and around football.