List of first black players for European national football teams - wikipedia List of first black players for European national football teams The following is a list of the first black or mixed - race players to represent European international association football teams. The first black man to play international football was Andrew Watson, who earned the first of his three caps for Scotland on 12 March 1881, when he captained them in a 6 -- 1 win away to England at The Oval in London. Team Player Debut Notes Scotland Andrew Watson England, 12 March 1881 Born in Demerara, British Guiana ( now Guyana ) to an Afro - Guyanese mother and Scottish father. No black players represented Scotland since Watson until the debut of Nigel Quashie on 27 May 2004. Quashie was born in London to a Ghanaian father and English mother, and qualified for Scotland through a grandfather. Austria Helmut Köglberger Hungary, 5 September 1965 Born in Steyr, Austria to an African - American father and Austrian mother. Belgium Dimitri Mbuyu Portugal, 4 February 1987 Born in Berchem, Belgium, of Congolese origin. Faroe Islands Sonni Nattestad Malta, 19 November 2013 Born in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, of Afro - Haitian origin. France Raoul Diagne Czechoslovakia, 15 February 1931 Diagne was born to Senegalese parents in Saint - Laurent - du - Maroni, French Guiana. Wales Eddie Parris Northern Ireland, 5 December 1931 Parris, born to Jamaican parents in Pwllmeyric near Chepstow, played one match for Wales. Germany Erwin Kostedde Malta, 22 December 1974 Born in Münster to an African - American father and German mother. Greece Daniel Batista Lima Finland, 12 October 1994 Born in São Vicente, Cape Verde, a naturalised Greek citizen. England Viv Anderson Czechoslovakia, 29 November 1978 The first black player to represent England at any level was Benjamin Odeje, for the England schoolboys team against Northern Ireland in 1971. Paul Ince was the nation 's first black captain, against the United States in June 1993. Republic of Ireland Chris Hughton United States, 29 October 1979 Hughton was born in London to a Ghanaian father and Irish mother. Spain Donato Gama da Silva Denmark, 16 November 1994 Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a naturalised Spanish citizen. The first Spanish - born black player in the team was Vicente Engonga, born in Barcelona to Equatoguinean parents, who debuted against Russia on 23 September 1998. Netherlands Humphrey Mijnals Bulgaria, 3 April 1960 Born in Paramaribo, Surinam, then a Dutch plantation colony, played three matches for the Netherlands and 45 matches for Suriname. Norway John Carew Egypt, 18 November 1998 Born in Akershus, of Gambian origin. Poland Emmanuel Olisadebe Romania, 16 August 2000 Born in Warri, Nigeria, a naturalised Polish citizen. Portugal Guilherme Espírito Santo Spain, 28 November 1937 Born in Lisbon, Portugal, of São Toméan descent. Italy Fabio Liverani South Africa, 25 April 2001 Born in Rome to a Somali mother and Italian father. Bulgaria Lúcio Wagner Bulgaria, 9 May 2006 Born in Río de Janeiro, Brazil, a naturalized Bulgarian citizen. Czech Republic Theodor Gebre Selassie Peru, 4 June 2011 Born in Třebíč to an Ethiopian father and Czech mother. See also List of first black Major League Baseball players by team References ^ Jump up to : McGowan, Tom ( 23 February 2012 ). `` Football pioneer : Andrew Watson - the first black international ''. CNN. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ Darko, Isaac ( 22 September 2015 ). `` Ghanaian players who chose Euro nations ''. Pulse. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` 15 février 1931. Le premier footballeur noir en équipe de France est fils de ministre. Scandale... '' ( 15 February 1931. The first black footballer in the France national team is son of minister. Scandal... ). Le Point ( in French ). 15 February 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ Shipton, Martin ( 8 August 2008 ). `` Move to honour Wales ' first black footballer ''. Wales Online. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` ERWIN KOSTEDDE : THE FIRST BLACK PLAYER FOR GERMANY ''. DFB. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ Ashdown, Marc ( 24 May 2013 ). `` First black England player revealed to be Benjamin Odeje ''. BBC. Retrieved 24 May 2013. Jump up ^ Taylor, Daniel ( 28 November 2008 ). `` Shy pioneer plays down his place in history ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hughton factfile ''. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Italian Exception ''. The New Yorker. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2018. Jump up ^ `` Colourful Pioneers ''. Rec. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018. Jump up ^ `` Humphrey Mijnals ( 1930 ) ''. Kent u deze nog ?. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2018. Jump up ^ `` John Carew : Why football will never be more important than life and death ''. The Independent. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Liverani is first black player to win Italy cap ''. The Guardian. 25 April 2001. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ Petrák, Michal ( 29 May 2012 ). `` Euro 2012 : Czech Republic profile - Theodor Gebre Selassie ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_first_black_players_for_European_national_football_teams&oldid=836660278 '' Categories : Association football - related lists Lists of black people European people of African descent Hidden categories : CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 16 April 2018, at 02 : 37. About Wikipedia

Question: who was first black footballer to play for england
Answer: Viv Anderson