A relatively unheralded sporting pioneer was honored on Saturday when the Google Doodle – the animation that greets users of the search engine’s homepage – celebrated Frank Soo.  

On 9 May 1942, Soo – born in Buxton, England to a Chinese father and English mother – made his debut for England’s football team against Wales. Already the first footballer of Chinese origin to play in the English football league, Soo had graduated to become the first player of non-European descent to represent England. He remains the only player of Chinese parentage to represent England’s men’s team.

Born in 1914, Soo was an established player for Stoke City when World War II interrupted his career. He combined service in the Royal Air Force with playing friendly games for Stoke and England, eventually appearing nine times for his country in unofficial wartime internationals. 

He later managed teams in Finland, England, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, including the Norwegian national side at the 1952 Olympics. Returning to his birth country, he was manager of Scunthorpe – influencing future England manager Graham Taylor, a vocal proponent of players from ethnic minorities – and died in Staffordshire in 1991. 

This footballing trailblazer isn’t just remembered by a Google Doodle. The housing development on the site of his old club Stoke City’s former ground includes a Frank Soo Street, and the charitable Frank Soo Foundation helps guide Chinese and East Asian families both at home and abroad. 

The foundation’s honorary president is Jacqui Soo, Frank’s great-niece, who welcomed the Google Doodle and heralded her relative’s triumph over xenophobia. 

"There was a lot of racism that he had to deal with back then. He was known as Chinaman Frank Soo,” she said. “But once he began playing for England he was Frank Soo or the RAF's Frank Soo."

Originally published by CGTN Europe on 9 May 2020