Black excellence in football will be celebrated today at the Football Black List celebration where a community champion will become the first recipient of the inaugural Cyrille Regis Award. The online event will take place at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
The award named in honour of pioneering Black footballer, Cyrille Regis, is a new addition to the Football Black List. The award recognises an outstanding contribution to the Black community and football within the last year. The individual is chosen by the Regis family and the winner will be announced by Cyrille’s wife, Julia Regis.
The Football Black List celebration this year, supported by the Premier League for the sixth consecutive time, will be dedicated to Marvin Morgan – who sadly passed away this week. The former footballer was a hugely popular and successful figure in the Black community and the game. His fashion brand, Fresh Ego Kid, is worn by the top Premier League stars and he used his platform to help challenge racism and raise awareness of mental health issues.
The celebration, hosted by presenters Kyle Walker of Sky Sports and the BBC’s Miriam Walker-Khan, will see footballers, coaches, senior administrators, media and those working in the community and at the grassroots level of the game, celebrated for their contribution to football. Professional footballers including Marcus Rashford, Ivan Toney, Nikita Parris, Anita Asante and Cyrus Christie all feature.
The next generation of leaders will also be highlighted within the Ugo Ehiogu Ones to Watch section of the list.
The Football Black List was founded by sports journalists Rodney Hinds and Leon Mann in 2008 and is backed by the Premier League, The FA, PFA, LMA, EFL, PGMOL, Sport England, FARE, Kick It Out, BCOMS and leaders across the Black community.
Co-founder of the Football Black List, Leon Mann MBE, looked ahead to an important show:
“It is a huge honour to add the Cyrille Regis Award to the Football Black List celebration. We are delighted the award will recognise an individual who has shown great leadership over the last year. A big thank you to the Regis family for their continued support.
“The Football Black List celebration is now an established event in the football calendar and we are proud to have incredible backing and engagement from the Black community and football industry. To have Premier League support for a sixth consecutive event underlines this.
“The celebration will be dedicated to Marvin Morgan – a brilliant visionary who will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family at this incredibly difficult time.”
You can watch the Football Black List celebration, supported by the Premier League, live at 5pm from the National Football Museum in Manchester via this link – https://www.youtube.com/
