Transforming The Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story
A powerful new sports and social history documentary about footballer Clyde Best will make its highly-anticipated world premiere at Sadler’s Wells East Theatre in London on Wednesday 25th March 2026 at 7:30pm, kicking off a one-week run of screenings in the British capital, where Best first made his mark as a 17-year-old playing for West Ham United.
Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story celebrates the extraordinary life and legacy of Bermudian legend Clyde Best – the first Black football superstar of the modern television era in England and a pioneering figure whose influence later helped shape the early growth of professional soccer in the United States.
Tickets are on sale now at Sadler’s Wells or through the Clyde Best Story website (link below).
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Egan and narrated by accomplished actor, director and producer Tony D. Head, the documentary traces Best’s journey from Bermuda to English football’s top flight, where he rose to prominence with West Ham United in the late 1960s and 70s. Facing open racism while performing at the highest level of the game, Best not only broke barriers but excelled-scoring 58 goals in 218 appearances and becoming a symbol of resilience, excellence, and change.
Among other key events, the film revisits Easter Sunday 1972, when Best, Charles, and Ade Coker became the first Black trio to start a match in England’s First Division – an historic moment that transcended sport.
The film also chronicles Best’s vital role in American soccer during its formative professional years and his close relationship with legendary U.S. coach Clive Charles. In the North American Soccer League, he helped the Tampa Bay Rowdies capture the 1975 Soccer Bowl and later became a fan favorite with the Portland Timbers, leaving a lasting imprint on the U.S. game both on and off the pitch.
Featuring newly uncovered archival footage and exclusive interviews, the film includes appearances by Harry Redknapp, Kasey Keller, Les Ferdinand, Viv Anderson, and lan Wright, among others. Together, they reflect on Best’s impact across generations and continents, and on football’s ongoing journey toward greater inclusion and equity.
Sadler’s Wells East opened in February 2025 and is one of London’s latest iconic cultural venues, located at East Bank, the city’s newest cultural quarter at the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a powerful legacy of sports from the 2012 Olympic Games. Two encore screenings will also run at Lumiere Cinema Romford on Sunday 29th March at 2pm & 7pm.
Following its British premiere, the documentary will screen in Bermuda, 21st – 26th April, at Earl Cameron Theatre & Ruth Seaton James Auditorium, before embarking on a U.S. city tour in May and June 2026. Tickets for the Bermuda shows are also now on sale.
The project is supported by Gosling’s, Miller Insurance, Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa: Bermuda, with backing from the Bermuda Football Association and the Government of Bermuda. It is also an official project of the International Documentary Association.
With its premiere at one of London’s most iconic cultural venues, Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story positions Clyde Best not only as a football legend, but as a key figure who – along with Coker and Charles – transformed the game into what we know today.
Tickets: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/the-clyde-best-story/
Additional information: www.clydebest.com
For any media related enquiries, please contact:
Robert Penner – Publicity, The Clyde Best Story
+1- 415-683-9043 | rob@robertdpenner.com