That is the view of Football Association diversity and inclusion manager Anwar Uddin, speaking on the day the only man with Chinese heritage to have been capped for England was officially inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame.
Born in Derbyshire, to a British mother and a Chinese father, he became a Stoke City legend – playing for the club between 1933 and 1945.
Soo played alongside Stanley Matthews and Joe Mercer but his achievement as a trailblazer is now finally receiving national recognition.
On Saturday, relatives and supporters marched from a street named after him, on the site of Stoke’s old ground, to the club’s new stadium in honour of him.