Honour for Yorkshireman 
who took football to US

One name that is unlikely to figure is Keith Binns.

And yet on Saturday, the 80-year-old Yorkshireman achieved a feat that neither of his more illustrious counterparts can boast when he was celebrated at a banquet for 350 guests for his part in the growth of the beautiful game Stateside.

Former Leeds resident Mr Binns was joint-founder of the first ever football club in Madison, Wisconsin, after he moved there in 1955.

With an original membership of just 14 players, Madison Soccer Club was later renamed Madison United – a nod to his beloved Leeds United.

Now, with 25,000 children and adults playing in the city, Mr Binns was recognised for his instrumental contribution to the sport’s ever-increasing popularity by taking his place in the Wisconsin Soccer Hall of Fame.

He said: “It’s a great honour. I’m very proud.

“[The club] just took off.

“I have seen this incredible growth and I get a big buzz from watching the kids fall in love with soccer rather than American football or baseball.”

Mr Binns, who grew up in Crossgates, Leeds, used to play for the Leeds National Association of Government Officers’ (Nalgo) team and then went on to play for Crossgates Rovers in the Leeds Combination League during the post-war era.