A campaign has been launched to raise £150,000 for a statue of Justin Fashanu near Carrow Road.
Proud Canaries, an LGBTQ+ group for Norwich City supporters, has created the fundraising effort to commemorate the club’s former forward, who became Britain’s first openly gay professional footballer in 1990.
Fashanu took his own life in 1998 having experienced racist and homophobic abuse after coming out.
The statue, to be created by British sculptor Taslim Martin, is set to depict Fashanu’s iconic celebration after scoring the 1979-80 goal of the season against Liverpool at Carrow Road.
It is set to be placed near the stadium, on the banks of the River Wensum. The campaign is said to have the support of Norwich’s joint majority shareholders, Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones, as well as fellow director and nephew Tom Smith and board support across the club’s fanbase.
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“Amongst the backdrop of the Qatar World Cup where the lack LGBTQ+ rights is in the spotlight, we see Justin’s statue as more than a celebration of the man,” says Justin Fashanu Statue Campaign founder, professor Andrew Reynolds.
“Justin’s statue says to every player, regardless of skin colour or sexual orientation, play the game you love and we will love you as you play the game. We hope Justin’s statue will prompt awareness of persistent homophobia in sport and conversations about how to make football a happy and safe space for all.”
Martin added: “Justin’s statue is about much more than football. There is a bigger question of who we accept, celebrate and respect as a nation. Of the 2,600 public statues in Britain on Art UK’s database, not a single one is of a gay black man. Justin’s statue will be the first.
“I am honoured to be creating this statue, which we hope will play an important role in opening up the game to LGBTQ+ representation.”
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Justin Fashanu’s wonder goal, 40 years on: ‘Normally you’d think, Has he? Has he? But in this case, it was just… Yes, he has!’
(Photo: Getty Images)
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2022-12-07 05:04:17Z
CBMiSWh0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzM5NzcxNjYvMjAyMi8xMi8wNy9ub3J3aWNoLWp1c3Rpbi1mYXNoYW51LXN0YXR1ZS_SAU9odHRwczovL3RoZWF0aGxldGljLmNvbS8zOTc3MTY2LzIwMjIvMTIvMDcvbm9yd2ljaC1qdXN0aW4tZmFzaGFudS1zdGF0dWUvP2FtcD0x
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