A campaign to erect a statue of footballer who was dropped by England because he was black has reached its crowdfunding goal.
Jack Leslie was, in 1925, due to become the first black player to represent England when picked for a match against Ireland afer impressing at Plymouth Argyle.
However, Leslie was excluded from the squad and never called up again. It would be another 53 before Viv Anderson played for England.
"The [Plymouth] manager sent in his request, saying: 'I've got a brilliant player here, he should play for England,'" his granddaughter, Lesley Hiscott, said.
"So then someone came down to watch him. They weren't watching his football, they were looking at the colour of his skin. And because of that, he was denied the chance of playing for his country."
A target of £100,000 was smashed, before a new goal of £120,000 was met. At the time of writing, almost £135,000 has been raised to pay for a statue outside of Plymouth Argyle's stadium Home Park.
The campaign has been backed by the Football Association.
Club chairman Simon Hallett said: "Jack was not just a great footballer. He has become a symbol of the injustices in our game and in our society.
"I hope that when we have his statue up it will become an enduring symbol of the progress we can make in fighting the evil of racism."
Leslie's playing career was cut short through injury, when a lace from a leather ball damaged his eye. He returned to east London where he grew up and worked in West Ham's boot room.
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