THOMAS Britten may well hold claim to being Welsh football’s forgotten pioneer.

Little is known of Britten who holds the distinction of being Wales’ first black international player having earned his first cap in Wales’ 9-0 defeat at the hands of Scotland on March 23, 1878.

The 20 year old forward had been selected while playing for Govan based Parkgrove Football Club which would later become the site of Ibrox, home of the famous Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

Parkgrove had a reputation for its multi-ethnic team with Britten known as their leading striker having scored for Glasgow against Sheffield in the same year as his first Welsh appearance.

Britten was the stand out player for the Welsh but could not prevent Wales crashing to the heaviest defeat in international football history at that point.

The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Sandard reported: ‘For the Welshmen, who had evidently not recovered from their long journey during the previous night, Britten wrought hard, but his dashing play did not seem to be understood by the rest of the forwards.’

Britten earned his second and final international cap two years later.

By now Britten had joined Mid Wales side Presteigne with the Welsh national team falling to a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Scotland at Hampden Park.