A Minister in the Bermudan Government says former West Ham star Clyde Best should be knighted for his services to football.
According to Bermudan daily the Royal Gazette, Quinton Edness has urged Bermuda's Governor George Fergusson to approach the Queen with view to securing the title for Best, who was awarded an MBE back in 2006."Every person who was in Bermuda who knew Clyde Best at the time he was representing Bermuda overseas would urge the Governor to contact Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and request she grant him a knighthood, because of what he represented as a sports person," said Edness.
"Also for his contribution to humanity and what he had to endure to prove he was a deserving sportsman and sufficiently competent to recognised as a worthwhile human being.
“All of Bermuda is very proud that he represented us and, at this particular time, he could once again represent Bermuda with the provision of a knighthood."
Now 63, Best played for West Ham between 1968 and 1976.
He was one of the first black players to feature in the old Division One and in conjunction with Clive Charles and Ade Coker, became part of the first black triumverate to feature in a top-flight English team when West Ham beat Tottenham 2-0 on April Fools' Day 1972 - several years before Ron Atkinson repeated the achievement at West Bromwich Albion.
A burly centre-forward, Best scored 58 goals in just over 200 appearances for West Ham before joining Tampa Bay Rowdies and the first North American soccer revolution in 1975.
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