The Football Association will answer calls to recognise England hero Frank Soo by awarding his family an honorary international cap, Sky Sports News can exclusively reveal.
Stoke City legend Soo, whose mother was English and whose father was Chinese, became the first player of Asian heritage to represent England when he appeared in a wartime international against Wales in 1942.
Raised in Liverpool – where he turned out for Prescott Cables as a teenager – Soo featured in nine England wartime matches between 1942 and 1945, and also played alongside Sir Stanley Matthews and Sir Matt Busby.
Like many other wartime internationals, Soo – who died in 1991 at the age of 76 – never received an England cap, despite wearing the Three Lions on his chest and representing England on the pitch during the Second World War. This was because wartime England games were not recognised as official international matches.
Sky Sports News understands members of Soo’s family will be presented with an international cap in his honour when England host Wales at Wembley Stadium on October 9. An announcement to confirm the award of the honorary cap is expected to come as people celebrate East and South East Asian Heritage Month during September.
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Frank Soo and the Asian-heritage footballers who followed in his footsteps
Two years ago, Sky Sports News exclusively revealed there was growing clamour across football and beyond for Soo’s family to receive a cap in Frank’s honour to recognise his contribution as a true pioneer of English football.
Soo was the first person of East or South East Asian (ESEA) heritage ever to play in the Football League. He appeared in more than 250 games for Stoke, before playing for Leicester City, Luton Town and Chelmsford City.
Soo served in the Royal Air Force during the war, but also turned out as a guest player for several clubs, including Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton, Brentford and Millwall. Soo went on to manage across Europe, including a spell as Norway national team manager as well as stints in England at Scunthorpe United and St Albans City.
Early in 2023, a posthumous honorary cap was presented to the family of former Plymouth Argyle footballer Jack Leslie by the Football Association, despite the fact that Leslie did not get the chance to actually play for England.
Leslie, who scored 137 goals for Argyle, was the first Black footballer to be selected by England, back in 1925 – but was denied the opportunity to play for the country because of the colour of his skin.
Recognition came after widespread efforts – particularly from The Jack Leslie Campaign, which campaigned vociferously for Leslie to be honoured. That culminated in a Jack Leslie statue being built outside Argyle’s Home Park stadium in 2022 before his family received a posthumous England cap in his honour ahead of England’s game with Ukraine the following year.
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How Sky Sports News celebrated the 80th anniversary of Chinese-origin former Stoke, Leicester and Luton Town footballer Frank Soo becoming the Asian heritage footballer to play for an England side
Jack Leslie Campaign co-founder Matt Tiller told Sky Sports News in 2023: “Just as Jack Leslie’s illustrious club career was coming to a premature end after an eye injury in the winter of 1933, Frank Soo burst onto the scene at Stoke City.
“Both trailblazers, Jack was denied the chance to play for his country due to the colour of his skin, while Frank did represent England several times.
“Their stories are, however, similar in one striking manner. Both were largely forgotten for decades.
“Frank’s talent won him appearances for England through the Second World War, which meant his international career was ‘unofficial’. But his achievements are remarkable and deserve to be known far and wide.
“It is time to recognise pioneers like Frank Soo, particularly when players of Asian heritage remain under-represented in our national game.”
