Pioneering Best takes Centre Stage as Documentary Premieres
IslandStats.com
West Ham United legend Clyde Best was the guest of honour at Sadler’s Wells East as the world premiere of Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story received a standing ovation from a capacity crowd.
The film, directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Egan and narrated by Tony D. Head, offers a poignant and definitive account of the Bermudian’s trailblazing journey through English football. Arriving in London as a seventeen-year-old in 1968, Best became one of the first Black superstars of the modern television era, scoring 58 goals in 218 appearances for the Hammers and helping to dismantle racial barriers during a volatile period for the British game.
The premiere, held at the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, brought together a "who’s who" of footballing royalty. Notable contributors in the film—including Sir Geoff Hurst, Ian Wright, and Harry Redknapp—feature prominently in a narrative that explores not only Best’s on-field excellence but also his quiet resilience in the face of systemic racism.
A particularly emotive highlight of the evening was the film’s focus on the historic Easter Sunday match in 1972, when West Ham became the first English top-flight side to field three Black players in a single starting line-up: Best, Clive Charles, and Ade Coker. This "quiet revolution," as the documentary describes it, is framed as a foundational moment for the modern, multi-cultural Premier League.
Following the screening, Best joined a live Q&A session where he reflected on the importance of the project. "It was never just about me," Best told the audience. "It was about making sure that the doors I walked through stayed open for those who came after."
The London run continues at Sadler’s Wells East until March 28, before the documentary moves to Bermuda for a highly anticipated homecoming series of screenings at the Earl Cameron Theatre and Ruth Seaton James Auditorium starting April 21.
