Bermudians came out to watch a preliminary showing of a film about football icon Clyde Best at Cambridge Beaches.

About 170 people turned up to catch a glimpse of what is in the 90-minute documentary before it is shown to a global audience next year.

It was a night which started with Best, his former West Ham team-mate Ade Coker, producer Dan Egan and author Patrick Horne addressing the media.

Snippets of the documentary were shown to the guests as they ate dinner.

To close out the evening, Best was joined on stage by Coker, Horne and American actor Tony Head, the narrator for the film, for a panel discussion.

Best said that he did the documentary to inspire young Bermudians to follow in his footsteps.

“I’m honoured to have done what we’ve done because I think it's not only about me,” he said at Thursday’s event.

“It’s about my country and the young people coming after me. If they get to see something like this in the documentary, it might help them and it’s going to help our country.

“It's not been a problem for me telling the story. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it because, as I said, I’ve always wanted to be a professional player.

“My dad always told my sisters and brothers, don't worry about Clyde, he’s going to be a sportsman. So, that shows the wisdom that he had to be able to say that all them years ago, even before I left to go to England.

“Going to England was unbelievable and if I had do it all over again, I can do it.”

Egan announced that the project, which took him three years to complete, will premier early next year.

“We’re going to open up the film in London in March of 2026,” the producer said.

“We’re going to be here on the island in April of 2026. We’ll launch into the United States and then be in all the host cities of the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

“Clyde is going to be tired because we’re going to take him all around. The world is taking notice and paying honour to him.”

Coker, who made his West Ham debut in 1971 when Best was already established, spoke about how he looked up to the Bermudian.

Best, Coker and Clive Charles made history when they became the first three Black players to feature for an English top-flight team, when the Hammers selected them against Tottenham Hotspur, in April 1972.

“When I got to West Ham, it was amazing to me,” the Nigerian-born Coker said.

“To see somebody who was my skin colour, thank God it was this man right here. I looked up to him for a good reason, because he was already where I wanted to be.

“When I heard his story, how he came to England and played one game in the reserves, then straight to the first team.

“That’s when I thought, look at him, that's what I want to be. I copied his moves and learnt from him because I wanted to be like him.”

Horne, a former player in the North American Soccer League, mentioned how Best’s presence at West Ham was the reason why he supported the East London club.

“When I moved from St Vincent & the Grenadines to Brooklyn, New York, in 1968, we loved the game and were looking for information on the game,” he said.

“There was one programme called Star Soccer. It was just a Saturday afternoon programme showing highlights.

“We’d all sit around and watch the highlights. There was only one team with one Black player and that was Clyde Best at West Ham.

“Up to today, West Ham is my favourite team. I support West Ham because of Clyde. Not just me, we have a lot of people who are of my age and those who came after that realised about Clyde. We call him legend.

“One of the things that Clyde did was he dispelled a lot of myths about Black players. We can't play in the cold, Clyde knocked that out. We can’t head the balls, forget it.

“We’re lazy, forget it. He knocked all the myths that they had. He just broke all those myths and that made us proud of him. We talked about the impact he had on the game.”

Egan was delighted at how Bermudians have responded to the project.

“What I find here in Bermuda is that people have been so receptive to this idea,” he said.

“They’ve all said it’s been so long overdue. I just have to really thank Bermuda, the community of Bermuda, the foundations, the Bermuda Football Association and our sponsors for stepping up because we're making the film, but everybody involved is doing it for Clyde Best.

“We try not to lose sight of that, that we're doing this for Clyde Best, spreading his story and telling his story to the world. So for me, it’s one of the great honours I know.”

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport, applauded the team behind the successful completion of the film.

“On behalf of the Government of Bermuda, I extend heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this project forward,” Darrell said.

“The Government of Bermuda is happy to support this film. This documentary ensures that Clyde Best’s legacy will reach global audiences.

“With premieres planned for London, Bermuda and a tour across the United States’ World Cup host cities, the film places Bermuda’s sporting heritage and our cultural identity on an international platform.”