Player led the fight against so-called ‘slavery contracts’He scored Stoke’s winner in 1972 League Cup final win
George Eastham, a member of England’s World Cup-winning squad, has died at the age of 88. Eastham did not play in England’s 1966 success on home soil, but the winger was part of Sir Alf Ramsey’s squad that lifted the trophy for the only time in the nation’s history.
Blackpool-born Eastham spent most of his career at Newcastle, Arsenal and Stoke; he also left a far-reaching legacy as the man who battled against so-called “slavery contracts”. Eastham’s involvement in a 1963 court case that improved players’ freedom to move between clubs ended up reforming the British transfer market.
More Stories
De Ketelaere channels winning habits as solo effort drives Atalanta top | Nicky Bandini
‘We have to learn’: Kulusevski on Ange-ball and what next for Spurs
Generation TikTok: how sportswomen set the bar higher than the men