Watford to mark Frank Soo's England debut before Stoke City match

The Hornets will celebrate the 81st anniversary of Frank Soo becoming the first Black or Asian player to make their debut for England, in conjunction with ESEA Hornets, a supporters group for people from the British East and South East Asian community.

Soo, who made his first England appearance on May 9, 1942 and was also the first player of Chinese descent to play in the Football League, started his career at Stoke, making tomorrow’s game the ideal opportunity to honour his achievements.

This is due to take place with an image of the player on the big screen and PA announcement in the run up to tomorrow’s 3pm kick-off.

Frank Soo with the England team (Image: Alan Lau)

Co-founder of the Frank Soo Foundation and chairman of ESEA Hornets Alan Lau told the Watford Observer: "We are so pleased that Watford FC is marking this special occasion in football history with this display.

“This reflects the ongoing partnership between Watford FC, Watford FC CSE, ESEA Hornets and The Frank Soo Foundation and it is so fitting that it could be done during the match against Stoke City.

“There is a lack of ESEA (East and South East Asian) representation across football and we hope displays like this will help bring more people from my community to join the wider footballing family."

Frank Soo waits to be introduced. (Image: Alan Lau)

Born in Buxton in 1914, Soo played alongside the legendary Sir Stanley Matthews at Stoke and was regarded as one of the finest defensive midfielders of his time.

His career was interrupted by the Second World War, when he joined the Armed Forces, but he made nine appearances for England in wartime and victory internationals following his debut against Wales in Cardiff.

Soo’s playing days ended at Chelmsford City but his football career continued in coaching, mainly in Scandinavia where he led the Norwegian team to the 1952 Olympics and won the Swedish Allsvenskan in 1954/55 with Djurgardens IF.