FA backs statue of footballer
PLANS to create a statue honouring Britain's first black professional footballer are set to go ahead thanks to a £20,000 donation from the Football Association.
The project to commemorate goalkeeper Arthur Wharton, who played for Sheffield United, Rotherham, Preston North End and Darlington in the late 19th century, had stalled owing to the recession.
But work can now go ahead in casting the 12ft-tall bronze which will be erected in Wharton's home town of Darlington. It is being created by Vivien Mallock, who also made the statue of Brian Clough which stands outside Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium.