Frank Soo Foundation wants Stoke City star’s story brought to the masses to inspire football’s next generation
- Foundation wants to see nine-time England international recognised ‘as among the great footballers of his time’
- Stoke City star of the 1930s, who was considered better than Stanley Matthews, remains last Asian player to appear for Three Lions
Forgotten footballer Frank Soo is a name that has gained some much deserved recognition this week but even Alan Lau Zheng-phoon, founder and chairman of The Frank Soo Foundation, came late to the story of England’s first Asian player.
“To be honest, I had not heard about Frank’s story until 2016 when a friend of mine put me in touch with Susan Gardiner because she was writing her book about Frank, The Wanderer: The Story of Frank Soo.”
“When I found out about him, I knew I had to do something to share his story with the world, to use it to inspire people from the Chinese and East Asian community.”
Lau set up the foundation in June 2017, and three years on they have had their greatest success.
“We were approached by Google Doodle late last year,” Lau said. “They had heard about Frank and wanted to do something to honour him. The feedback has been amazing.
