West Brom reveal amazing matchday programme cover celebrating life of club legend Cyrille Regis for upcoming game against Southampton
- Ex-footballer Cyrille Regis died at the age of 59 last week following a heart attack
- West Brom will pay tribute to their legendary ex-striker with programme cover
- A picture of Regis will dominate the front page for Southampton game next week
- Alongside the picture there is a quote, taken from Matthew 6:13 in the Bible
West Bromwich Albion have revealed a stunning programme cover to celebrate the life of former player Cyrille Regis, who died last week at the age of 59.
The club have been paying tribute to their former striker since his untimely death, and now the matchday programme for their next tie has been announced.
Scheduled to be published for the Southampton game a week on Saturday, it features a black and white picture of Regis, with the West Brom kit enhanced in green and yellow.
Cyrille Regis is to be celebrated on the front cover of West Brom's next matchday programme
Regis is a legend at West Brom, having played almost 300 games for the Midlands club
Alongside the picture is a quote, originating from Matthew 6:13 in the Bible, which reads: 'The power and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen...'
Regis died suddenly after suffering a heart attack last week, under a month before his 60th birthday.
His death provoked an outpouring of heartfelt tributes from players and fans, while his devastated widow, Julia, described him as the 'perfect man' and her 'soulmate'.
Regis burst onto the English football scene in the 1970s when racist abuse hurled at black players from the terraces was still common.
The ex-West Brom striker was regarded as a pioneer for black footballers in the 70s and 80s
A banner was unveiled in tribute to the ex-West Brom striker during Saturday's match
After being discovered playing in the lower leagues, he signed for West Brom for £5,000 in May 1977 and won over the Baggies' faithful by scoring 112 goals in 297 games.
In the 1978/79 season he formed a famous partnership with Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson, who were nicknamed the Three Degrees by manager Ron Atkinson.
All three of the players were black and featured for West Brom at a time when there was only one other black player in the top flight that year, Viv Anderson at Nottingham Forest.
Since the Premier League was launched in 1992, the number of British black and minority ethnic players has doubled.
While 85 black footballers have gone on to play for England, since Anderson became the first in only 1978.
Regis was awarded an MBE in 2008, for services to the voluntary sector and football, and went on to have roles as a coach as well as a football agent.
He was still working up until his passing and was a hugely admired and respected figure within the game for tackling racist abuse of the 70s and 80s.
Regis made five appearances for England across his time with West Brom and Coventry
Fans decorated the Hawthorns' gates with floral tributes, scarves and shirts in tribute to Regis
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