PFA Merit Award Winner 2005: Shaka Hislop - a fitting tribute to one of the game's great anti-racism campaigners!
By David Smith (givemefootball)
Sir Bobby Charlton...Sir Matt Busby...Bill Shankly...Sir Stanley Matthews...Brian Clough...Pele - the list of previous PFA Merit Award winners reads like a veritable who's who of the world's greatest game. And now Portsmouth keeper Shaka Hislop is proudly placed in that same distinguished category.
The PFA has long been a staunch supporter of the country's, and Europe's, anti-racism campaigns - and Shaka has been at the forefront of such initiatives for more than ten years.
'Shaka gave us the inspiration to get the campaign up and running – and he has been an inspiration ever since'. The words of Show Racism the Red Card co-ordinator Ged Grebby perfectly sum up one of the game's great anti-racism campaigners!
Ged first came into contact with Shaka when the Trinidad and Tobago keeper was playing for Newcastle in 1994 and Ged was producing an anti-racism magazine called 'Youth Against Racism in Europe'.
"We sent Shaka a copy of the magazine and we were overwhelmed by his response," recalls Ged. "Not only did he send us £50, which was the first time wed received money from a footballer, but he also made it clear he wanted to get actively involved.
"Although we had only intended the magazine to be a one-off, Shaka wrote back to us and said 'great magazine - let's have one every month'. So you see, he inspired us to take things further and here we are now, having set up Show Racism the Red Card in 1995, celebrating our tenth anniversary.
"Whilst I wouldn't go as far as to say that we wouldn't have achieved what we have without Shaka, what I would say is that he was something of a driving force and source of inspiration in those early days."
And it wasn't just Shaka who would turn up at anti-racism events in the North East, as Ged explains. "The first time he visited a school in the Newcastle area, he brought John Beresford with him. The next event he attended, Les Ferdinand – who was a God at Newcastle at the time – came along, and so it went on.
"Not only did he make himself available, he also brought other players into the campaign and helped us produce our first video in 1996 with 18 professional players on it. He is still firmly involved now he's at Portsmouth and, through his contacts, has enabled the campaign to grow, not only in this country but all over the world
"We now have hundreds of professional footballers involved in our campaign, and we have about 100 patrons. But Shaka was the first and we were delighted to honour him for his efforts by making him a member of our Hall of Fame."
Now he's entered the PFA's own 'Hall of Fame' as the 2005 winner of our Merit Award, and Shaka says: "I had no idea about winning this Award and it was a great surprise. I am honoured to receive this award. It is overwhelming in many respects and I am not quite sure what I have done to deserve this.
"It was easy to get involved in the campaign because the people who were already involved made it easy. I am delighted that I have been able to make a contribution to the Show Racism the Red Card campaign, which has gone from strength to strength over the last ten years."
