As part of club legend Lucas Radebe’s visit to Leeds last week, the iconic defender delivered a powerful talk with the Leeds United Under-16 and Under-18 squads, about his career and the fight against discrimination.
Held as the Chief returned to Thorp Arch, the former South African international spoke at length about his illustrious time representing Leeds United, Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana, answering questions and giving advice to the stars of tomorrow.
Lucas also highlighted the importance of tackling racism and all forms of discrimination, discussing Black History Month and the No Room For Racism campaign, as well as providing a first-hand account of Apartheid South Africa, and the work of influential figures like Nelson Mandela.
Following the talk, which had the Academy players listening intently from the very first second, Radebe posed for photos with the youngsters and had time to chat one-to-one with a few members of the squad.
“What a great honour,” Lucas explained. “Giving back to the club gave me that opportunity to share with the Academy my story, my background through Apartheid and all I have gone through to get to where I am, it was absolutely amazing.
“For me it makes a huge difference, because these are the kids that are the future professionals that will carry the message through and make football better. They represent not just the club, but they represent their communities and to have the message or to have a conversation, that really makes a change.
“I think it is very, very important that we understand and we can spread the message to keep racism out of football. It shows the intention of the club, in football, in what kind of society we want it to be, especially when we are Marching on Together!”
Lucas’ story was something that made an impact on first-year scholar Will Firth, who said: “I will be honest, I didn’t know much about Lucas before he spoke to us but his story was amazing. To come from where he came from and have gone through everything he went through, and still make it to the very top was so inspiring.”
Callum Williams, Head of Player Care at the Leeds United Academy, added: “It was an incredible honour to have Lucas with us.
“It’s rare to see the boys hang on every word that someone says, but the passion, humility and genuine love of life that Lucas spoke with had them on the edge of their seats. His story is so inspiring and it will be something we’ll all remember for a long, long time.”
