A mural celebrating England footballer Jadon Sancho and countering racist abuse has been commissioned for a Kennington community sports centre.
The artwork will display at the Black Prince’s Trust, with the support of the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London and the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA).
Sancho, who is set to leave Dortmund for Manchester United this summer, was one of three black England players to receive racist abuse after they failed to score a penalty during England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
President of the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London Ben McFadyean said: “Our mural is designed to show solidarity with Jadon.
“Like many England fans, we were proud of the England team’s performances on the pitch at Euro 2020. Reaching the final was an incredible achievement for the Three Lions.
“It was really a sad end to the tournament to read of the hurtful, racially-motivated abuse that was directed at Jadon and the other black players, Marcus Rashford and Buyako Saka, who missed from the penalty spot at the final.”
Over 13,000 people had signed a petition that emerged in the last week urging Lambeth Council to commission a mural in support of Sancho, who grew up in Kennington.
However, this mural has been on the cards for four months, pre-dating that petition.
The Black Prince’s Trust was chosen for the mural because of the centre’s work with young people, the community, and sports in one of London’s most ethnically diverse areas.
The artwork is expected to be completed during the first week of August by acclaimed Bristolian Street artist Rob Aspire.
The mural will showcase the moment the 21-year-old winger celebrated a goal for Dortmund in 2020 by revealing a t-shirt with a message of support for George Floyd, the security guard who was murdered by US law enforcement.
McFadyean said: “We chose this image of Jadon because George Floyd has since his untimely death last year become a rallying point for the campaign for equality and integration across the world.”
Alongside the FSA, the mural is sponsored by the Fans for Diversity campaign, which is run in partnership with Kick It Out and the FSA.
Fans for Diversity campaign manager and Aldershot Town FC assistant manager Anwar Uddin said: “We are proud to support the creation of this mural.
“It’s a privilege to be able to celebrate a genuine role model in an area of London where it all began.
“He’s a superstar who represented England so well in Germany and proves that anything is possible regardless of who you are.”
Image credit: Вячеслав Евдокимов via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0 license
