The following is a list of the first black or mixed-race players to represent European international association football teams. The first black man to play international football was Andrew Watson, who earned the first of his three caps for Scotland on 12 March 1881, when he captained them in a 6–1 win away to England at The Oval in London.[1]
| Team | Player | Debut | Against | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 March 1881 | Born in Demerara, British Guiana (now Guyana) to an Afro-Guyanese mother and Scottish father. No black players represented Scotland since Watson until the debut of Nigel Quashie on 27 May 2004. Quashie was born in London to a Ghanaian father and English mother, and qualified for Scotland through a grandfather.[2] | |||
| 5 September 1965 | Born in Steyr, Austria to an African-American father and Austrian mother. | |||
| 4 February 1987 | Born in Berchem, Belgium, of Congolese origin. | |||
| 19 November 2013 | Born in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, of Afro-Haitian origin. | |||
| 15 February 1931 | Diagne was born to Senegalese parents in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana.[3] | |||
| 5 December 1931 | Parris, born to a black Barbadian father and white English mother in Pwllmeyric near Chepstow, played one match for Wales.[4] | |||
| 22 December 1974 | Born in Münster to an African-American father and German mother.[5] | |||
| 12 October 1994 | Born in São Vicente, Cape Verde, a naturalised Greek citizen. | |||
| 29 November 1978 | The first black player to represent England at any level was John Charles, who played for the England under 18's in 1962 and scored against Israel.[6] Paul Ince was the nation's first black captain, against the United States in June 1993.[7] | |||
| 29 October 1979 | Hughton was born in London to a Ghanaian father and Irish mother.[8] | |||
| 16 November 1994 | Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a naturalised Spanish citizen. The first Spanish-born black player in the team was Vicente Engonga, born in Barcelona to Equatoguinean parents, who debuted against Russia on 23 September 1998. | |||
| 3 April 1960 | Born in Paramaribo, Surinam, then a Dutch plantation colony, played three matches for the Netherlands and 45 matches for Suriname.[9] [10] [11] | |||
| 18 November 1998 | Born in Akershus, to Gambian father and Norwegian mother.[12] | |||
| 16 August 2000 | Born in Warri, Nigeria, a naturalised Polish citizen. | |||
| 28 November 1937 | Born in Lisbon, Portugal, of São Toméan descent. | |||
| 15 February 1956 | Born in Argentina to an Italian father and an Afro-Argentinian mother. | |||
| Tiago Silva | 17 August 2005 | Born in Taquari, Brazil, a naturalized Bulgarian citizen who had been previously capped for the Brazilian Youth Team. | ||
| 4 June 2011 | Born in Třebíč to an Ethiopian father and Czech mother.[13] | |||
| 15 April 1951 | Born in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, the son of a black American father and a Swiss mother. | |||
| Anthony Karl Gregory | 8 August 1990 | |||
| 16 November 2004 | Born in Rio de Janeiro to a white Brazilian father and Afro-Brazilian mother, he was naturalised as a Croatian citizen. | |||
| 10 August 2011 | Born in Hamburg to a Togolese mother and French father, he was naturalised as a Slovakian citizen. | |||
| 14 February 1990 | Swedish born. Martin Dahlin appeared for Sweden's Olympic team in 1988. | |||
| 10 August 2011 | Born in Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil, he was naturalised as a Ukrainian citizen. | |||
| 11 February 1997 | Born in Lusaka, Zambia to a Northern Irish father and Zambian mother. | |||
| 9 March 1994 | Born in Hamburg, Germany but moved to Denmark at the age of 1. | |||
| 14 October 1927 | Born in Beirut, Lebanon to Afro-Turk parents. | |||
| 18 August 1999 | Born in Lagos, Nigeria to a Nigerian father and Hungarian mother. | |||
| 12 February 2003 | Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian-Jewish family, and immigrated with them to Israel at a young age. Rifaat Turk, very popular player in the 1970s and 1980s, is an Israeli Arab and black in appearance. He later served as deputy mayor of Tel Aviv. | |||
| 24 January 2014 | Born in Helsinki, Alho also has British citizenship. | |||
| 15 August 2012 | Born in Lisbon, Portugal, of Mozambican descent, Júnior was naturalised as a Cypriot citizen. | |||
| 7 October 2006 | Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Pereira was naturalised as an Azeri citizen. | |||
| 17 April 2002 | Born in Moeda, Brazil, was naturalised as a Macedonian citizen. | |||
| 18 February 2004 | Born in Cameroon, Ba Ndoumbouk was naturalised as an Armenian citizen. | |||
| 10 October 1998 | ||||
| 10 February 1998 | Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Nwoko was naturalised as a Maltese citizen. | |||
| 15 November 2018 | Born in Fortaleza, Brasil, Ari was naturalised as a Russian citizen. | |||
| 9 September 2019 | Born in Vitebsk to a Cameroonian father and Belarusian mother. | |||
| 7 October 2020 | Born in Nassau, Bahamas. | |||
| 9 October 2004 | Born in Ilhéus, Brazil, was naturalised as a Bosnian citizen. | |||