The story of Clyde Best, the Bermudian striker who became one of the first high-profile Black players in English football, is set to reach a global audience with the launch of a new documentary, The Clyde Best Story: Transforming the Beautiful Game.
In a press conference, members of the production team and Best’s former teammates gathered to announce a North American and international tour for the film, which chronicles Best's courageous journey from Somerset, Bermuda, to the top flight of English football in the late 1960s.
At just 17 years old, Clyde Best traveled over 5,500 kilometers alone to trial for West Ham United. Film narrator and actor Tony Head described the journey as one of the most remarkable in sports history.
"He goes to the airport, nobody is there to meet him. He wanders around and ends up at West Ham tube station," Head recounted. "A stranger takes him to the house of Clyde Charles, where he stayed for seven years. It is a remarkable story of determination."
The film draws comparisons to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, though Head noted a key difference: Best was a teenager with no official organizational support, facing the challenges of a different era in England entirely on his own.
Best made his debut for West Ham in 1969, becoming a beacon of hope during a period rife with racial tension. His impact on the pitch was immediate, but his influence on the generation of Black players who followed was even greater.
Former West Ham teammate Ade Coker spoke emotionally about seeing Best as an idol: "I saw a person like me that really spurred me on," Coker said. "He helped me become the player I became." Randy Horton, a fellow Bermudian and 1972 NASL MVP, recalled Best’s early dominance: "He had the skill, the trap, the shot... but above all, he was determined. You looked at Clyde’s eyes and knew he was going to make a way."
The documentary also explores Best’s influence in North America, where he played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and coached at the University of Portland.
Executive Producer Dan Egan, who was a teammate of Best’s nephew, Jerry, noted that Best’s reputation preceded him wherever he went. "We stepped out of a taxi in Rotterdam years after he played there, and a complete stranger looked up and said, 'Clyde Best?' That is the kind of impact he had worldwide."
Publicist Rob Penner confirmed that tickets are now on sale for the North American tour, with screenings scheduled for: Tampa, Florida Portland, Oregon Atlanta, Georgia Washington D.C. and Philadelphia
The film will have its London premiere at Sadler’s Wells East in two weeks, followed by a highly anticipated Bermuda premiere in just over a month.
For a man who often lets his game do the talking, Clyde Best admitted he is "over the moon" to finally see his story told. As the documentary heads to screens globally, it serves as a timely reminder of a pioneer who paved the way for the diversity seen in the modern game.
