A blue memorial plaque in honour of England’s first black senior international footballer has been unveiled at his former Haringey home.

The plaque, a symbol from English Heritage marking someone of historical note lived in a building, has been placed on the Stroud Green house where Laurie Cunningham used to live.

Cunningham, who died in a car crash in 1989 aged 33, began his career at Leyton Orient before going on to play for a number of notable clubs, including Real Madrid and Manchester United, and earn six senior England caps.

The plaque comes as part of a new drive to get more recognition for black and Asian people of historical note who were born or lived in London.

Currently less than four per cent of the 900 plus blue plaques across the capital are dedicated to Black and Asian figures from history.

Cunningham is only the second footballer to be recognised with a blue plaque, after Bobby Moore, England’s World Cup-winning captain, was honoured earlier this year.

He was also a pioneer - when Cunningham made his professional debut, black players were rare in the English game. Today, more than a quarter of professional players in the English league are of black or other minority ethnic origin.

English Heritage curatorial director Anna Eavis said: “Since 1866 when the Blue Plaques scheme was established, our idea of which figures from the past are significant has changed.

“Today we are honouring an incredibly gifted footballer who paved the way for many other black players. But there are many others of national importance within the black community who have not been nominated for plaques.

“We want the Blue Plaques Scheme to celebrate the contributions of those groups which traditionally have been underrepresented in history including women and the working class, Black and Asian communities.”  

The London Blue Plaques scheme was established 150 years ago, but it took until 1954 for the first plaque honouring a notable figure of minority ethnic origin to be installed, to Mahatma Gandhi.

Other black figures celebrated with blue plaques include Mary Seacole, a Jamaican nurse from the Crimean War, and guitarist Jimi Hendrix.