49 Facts About Frank Soo

Frank Soo was an English professional football player and manager of mixed Chinese and English parentage.

Frank Soo was the first player of Chinese origin to play in the English Football League, and the first player of an ethnic minority background to represent England, though in unofficial wartime matches.

Frank Soo initially began his career at inside-left, though later became more established at half-back.

Frank Soo lost most of his best playing years to World War II, leaving him only able to serve in the Royal Air Force and play for Stoke and England in unofficial wartime games, as well as guest for numerous other clubs.

Frank Soo joined Chelmsford City of the Southern League in May 1948 and retired as a player after two seasons.

Frank Soo was appointed manager of the Italian Serie A club Padova in April 1951 but left the club 11 months later following the sudden death of his wife.

Frank Soo coached at AIK in 1958 before returning to England to manage Scunthorpe United in June 1959.

Frank Soo was born in Buxton, Derbyshire on 8 March 1914, and brought up in Liverpool.

Frank Soo had an elder brother, Norman, and several younger siblings: Phyllis, Ronald, Jack, Harold and Kenneth.

Freda, as she was known, was a keen autograph hunter and initially introduced herself to Frank Soo to ask for his signature.

Frank Soo played for Norwood, West Derby and West Derby Boys' Club and was scouted by both Everton and Liverpool without ever being signed by either club.

Frank Soo instead began his senior career with Cheshire League side Prescot Cables in late 1932, whilst working as an office clerk.

Frank Soo made a third appearance in a loss to Arsenal at Highbury, before being dropped for six matches.

Frank Soo found himself a first-team regular under new manager Bob McGrory, who utilised him as a left-sided half-back in the place of ageing veteran Harry Sellars.

Frank Soo played a total of 40 matches that season, helping Stoke to a fourth-place finish, the highest in the club's history.

Frank Soo made 31 appearances, as City finished in tenth place.

Frank Soo succeeded Turner as acting club captain in March 1938 and was formally named as captain in the summer.

Frank Soo's name was put forward in numerous newspapers for selection in the England team, with the Daily Express stating that "Soo, of Stoke, is one of the finest halves in the game, and it would be no less than he was worth if they put him in".

Frank Soo initially found work in the engineering department of the Michelin tyre company in Stoke-on-Trent, which allowed him to play wartime matches for Stoke City.

Frank Soo appeared for Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Chelsea, Reading, Brentford, Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Millwall, and Burnley, and played nine times for the England national football team between 1942 and 1945, the first non-white person ever to play for the national team and the only person of East Asian descent to date.

Frank Soo played for several FA representative teams not officially described as "England".

Frank Soo was called up to the Royal Air Force on 28 July 1941 and spent most of his time in the RAF working in the technical training of aircrews.

Frank Soo was named as the "Foxes" new club captain less than two weeks later.

Frank Soo was demobilised from the RAF on 26 April 1946.

Luton went on to finish the season 13th in the Second Division, with Frank Soo making 38 league and four FA Cup appearances.

On 28 May 1948, Frank Soo signed with Chelmsford City from Luton for a reported "substantial transfer fee".

Frank Soo spent the summer coaching Finnish club Helsingin Palloseura.

Rowe left to manage Tottenham Hotspur and Frank Soo applied to succeed him as Chelmsford manager, but lost out to Jack Tresadern.

Frank Soo submitted a transfer request in November 1949 so as to try and find a club closer to his wife's family home in Stoke-on-Trent following her father's death, and due to increasing tensions between himself, Tresadern, and the club's board of directors.

Frank Soo was quick and intelligent and was noted for his ability to deliver perfectly placed passes.

Stan Mortensen wrote in his autobiography, Football Is My Game, that Frank Soo was one of the four best wing-halves he ever played with, and "seemed incapable of a clumsy movement".

Frank Soo spent the summer of 1949 coaching the Finnish club Helsingin Palloseura before entering management full-time at Isthmian League side St Albans City in May 1950.

Frank Soo signed a one-year contract to manage Swedish club Eskilstuna in May 1952, but took charge of the side after first working as head coach of the Norway national football team for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

Frank Soo initiated a total ban on alcohol for his players, which some in the media criticised as totalitarian and unnecessary.

Frank Soo was appointed manager of newly relegated Division 2 Svealand club Orebro in 1953 soon became unpopular with some players in his new dressing room due to his strict training methods.

Frank Soo was appointed as manager at Allsvenskan club Djurgarden in June 1954, succeeding Welshman Dai Astley.

Frank Soo was linked with the Sweden national team job, but the SvFF opted not to appoint a full-time manager following failure to qualify for the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

Frank Soo instead accepted a post as part-time coach of Sweden, still to be officially managed by a committee, but left the post following heavy defeats to the Soviet Union and Hungary.

In 1961, Frank Soo returned to Scandinavia and managed Frigg in Oslo, the capital of Norway, for one season.

Two years later Frank Soo was appointed manager of the Israel national team and was due to take charge in October 1963, but a last-minute disagreement between himself and the Israel Football Association meant that he never formally took charge of the team.

Frank Soo subsequently returned to Scandinavia and briefly took charge at IFK Stockholm before he was appointed manager of Norwegian First Division club Fredrikstad in January 1964.

Frank Soo had a "short and turbulent" reign, again finding his players resentful of his prohibition of alcohol, and led the club to a second-place finish in 1964, before he resigned on 15 December 1964.

Frank Soo remained in Sweden for the rest of the 1960s, though nearly made a return to coaching with the Hong Kong national team in April 1972, though did not take up the post as the HKFA were only prepared to offer him a one-year contract.

Frank Soo returned to Stoke-on-Trent by the 1980s, and later died due to complications of dementia at a cottage hospital in Cheadle on 25 January 1991.

The Frank Soo Foundation was created in Soo's honour in 2016, the aim of which is to promote his story, continue his legacy and encourage more people from East and South East Asian backgrounds to participate in football.

The Frank Soo Cup is held every year in collaboration with County Football Associations encouraging grassroots participation and supported by the FA.

On 8 May 2020, to commemorate the anniversary of his first England cap, Frank Soo was honoured by Google with a Doodle.

On 3 November 2023, Frank Soo was inducted into the Stoke-on-Trent Sporting Hall of Fame to mark 90 years since his debut for Stoke City.

On 2 November 2024, Frank Soo was inducted into the National Football Museums Hall of Fame.