AHEAD OF the European Championships, Augmented Reality statues of four of England’s greatest black footballers have been unveiled and photographed at Wembley alongside the statue World Cup winning England Captain Bobby Moore OBE.

Together, we hope that these Lenses educate Snapchatters on Black British history and inspire them to seek out different stories and perspectives

Tobi Ruth Adebekun, SnapNoir Europe Lead

They all share two things in common, all of them are Black, and none have been commemorated with a statue, until now.

In fact, while Black footballers are estimated to make up over 25% of the professional players across England’s 92 clubs, until 10 years ago, out of over 200 statues of footballers in the UK, not a single one depicted a Black footballer. 

In the last ten years that has started to change, with five statues have being erected that depict Black players; Thierry Henry at The Emirates in 2011, Arthur Wharton was unveiled by the FA at St George’s Park in 2014 and most recently a statue of ‘The Three Degrees’ – Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson – was unveiled in 2019 in West Brom.

Camera company Snap, partnered with Kugali and Kick it Out to change that – and celebrate Black footballers in England through AR ahead of the Euros. The statues will appear as a Lens on the Snapchat Carousel and by scanning a Snapcode, allow Snapchatters to learn about some of the nation’s greatest footballers through digital statues detailing the careers and achievements of icons Eartha Pond, John Barnes, Rachel Yankey and Viv Anderson:

• Eartha Pond has played at the highest level in Women’s Football for teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea. Having grown up in statistically one of the most deprived areas in the UK, Eartha remains an inspirational member of her community as a re-elected local Councillor, assistant Head Teacher and ‘Trustee on the ground’ at local charity youth clubs and founder of her own charity, the ESP Foundation.
• John Charles Barnes, a major choice in any hall of fame, is not only famous for winning two league titles with Liverpool and two cup finals at Wembley, his impact went far beyond the football world. The Jamaica-born player was the first high-profile Black player to grace Anfield in the 1980’s.
• Rachel Aba Yankey was by no surprise the first professional female football player, registered on England’s national team. Previously ranked among Arsenal Ladies Legends for her skill and determination, she now not only fights for gender equality, but for racial equality as well within the football industry. 
• Vivian Anderson was most famous for being the first professional football player of African descent to play for England’s national football team. He graced various other clubs throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s including Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday. 

The Lens also links to Kick It Out’s website, detailing the ongoing battle against racism in football.

Troy Townsend, Head of Player Engagement at Kick It Out said: “We’re pleased to be part of this project, which shines a light on brilliant footballing talent, and the contributions they’ve made to the game over the years. It is an opportunity to celebrate Black icons and share their stories, in a new and innovative way.”

Snap’s innovative technology allows users to see some of the most iconic, important and uncelebrated Black British footballers in a new dimension, including a celebration pose, in their club and England kit.

Through Snap’s AR, Snapchatters can also learn some insightful facts about each player.

Tobi Ruth Adebekun, SnapNoir Europe Lead said: “At Snap, we believe that Augmented Reality is a powerful format for storytelling and began thinking last year about how we can use our technology and platform to tell stories that are rarely ever told.

“We’re grateful to have partners in Kick It Out who have been at the forefront of making change in football in the UK, and creative partners in Kugali who are dedicated to telling African stories.

“Together, we hope that these Lenses educate Snapchatters on Black British history and inspire them to seek out different stories and perspectives.”  

The Lens was built by Kugali Media, a leading augmented reality experience creator founded to spread African storytelling, and one of Snapchat’s Official Lens Creators. Kugali’s AR experiences have been viewed, shared and enjoyed by millions of people.

Hamid Ibrahim, Founder at Kugali said: “We are thrilled to be working with Snapchat on such an important initiative. Kugali exists to spread and support the creative expression of African storytelling, so the idea of celebrating the history of British people of African descent in this way was really exciting to us.

“Black British History is full of incredible people and stories that deserve to be told.

“This Lens is a virtual award of recognition, the first of a series in which Snapchatters will be able to learn about people they may not have heard of or know very little about from the fields of football, healthcare and education.” 

The partnership is the first part of a series of activities designed to celebrate, pay homage to and help educate around lesser-known and under celebrated Black heroes in the UK. The lens is freely available now to use from anywhere. 

Black British Voices