MIDDLESBROUGH football star George Boateng this week backed a campaign to honour Arthur Wharton, the world's first black professional footballer, who plied his trade for Darlington.

Mr Boateng, the Ghanaian-born Boro midfielder said Mr Wharton was a pioneer of African football and should be remembered accordingly.

"Because of him, people like myself have had an opportunity in life," he said. "Arthur Wharton was there before us all, he opened the door for so many others, Essien, Tony Yeboah and myself included.

"The more people who know about this the better. It is an interesting and very important part of our history."

Mr Boateng was approached because of his Ghanaian roots - he was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, and lived in the country until moving to Holland when he was nine.

On Monday, he visited campaigner Shaun Campbell to discuss the possibility of building a statue of Mr Wharton in Darlington, where he lived and played football in 1885 and 1886.

Mr Campbell, who runs the Drum Art Furniture shop in Darlington, has already commissioned a scale model of the statue by sculptor Vivien Mallock.

He hopes to secure funding to build the 12ft-high artwork outside the Darlington Arena.

Mr Campbell said: "It is all about raising the profile of this fantastic achievement in the North-East.

"The people of the region are the most passionate regarding their football and their heritage and this would be a testament to them.

"But it's not just a Darlington thing, it's not just a North-East thing, or even a national thing, this man was a world first."

Mr Wharton, was born in Accra, Ghana, in 1865 to a half-Scottish father and a mother who was a member of the Ghanaian royal family.

He played for amateur Darlington before being snapped up by crack team Preston North End, and went on to play for the club in an FA Cup semi-final in the 1886-87 season.

In 1886, he also broke the world 100yd sprint record, but despite his athletic achievements, he died penniless and destitute in 1930, aged 65.

His grave, in Edlington, South Yorkshire, remained unmarked until 1997 when anti-racism campaigners Football Unites - Racism Divides erected a headstone to honour his achievements.