Ask The Expert

Is there something you have always wanted to know about the history of the game? Or what about the present day clubs and stars of African football?

We're giving you the chance to Ask The Expert, and we'll select the best questions to get answered every Wednesday, only on MTNFootball.com!

This week's question:

Posted 25 August 2010 by Pervez, from Jos, Nigeria

Question: Who was the first African player to play in the English Premier League? 

Answer: 

The English Premiership started in the 1992/93 season and there were a number of African-born players at English clubs at the time. The Nigerian John Salako (Crystal Palace), Zimbabweans Peter Ndlovu (Coventry City) and Bruce Grobbelaar (Liverpool), and South African Roy Wegerle (Blackburn Rovers).

But the first ever black professional player to play in the English Football League was the Ghanaian goalkeeper Arthur Wharton, who was born in what is modern-day Accra in 1865. He signed for Rotherham Town as a professional in 1889, having previously played as an amateur for Darlington and Preston North End.

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