First openly gay footballer, Fashanu, inducted into Hall of Fame

At the National Football Museum in Manchester, Britain’s first and only openly gay footballer, Justin Fashanu is to be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The former Norwich City and Nottingham Forest striker took his own life in 1998 aged 37, eight years after coming out publicly on his sexuality

According to a report on Monday, Fashanu would be recognized at a ceremony on Wednesday. The Nigerian-born striker’s move to Forest in 1981 made him the first black footballer to command a one million pounds (1.30 million dollars) transfer fee.

He will join more than 100 male players in the English Football Hall of Fame, which was set up in 2002 to honor those who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport.

His niece Amal, who runs The Justin Fashanu Foundation which highlights issues of homophobia and other forms of discrimination in football, will collect the award.

“I guess for Justin this will be a great moment. I think it’s a pivotal moment, when we are finally recognizing who Justin Fashanu was, not only as the openly gay footballer, but also as a very talented footballer and the first million-pound black player in England,” she said.