Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info

Lucas Radebe, a man once called a "hero" by Nelson Mandela, was delighted to become a Leeds United ambassador.

The 56-year-old South African has been recognised by FIFA and the PFA for his off-field accomplishments, which include the fight to combat racism both abroad and on home shores following the decades of apartheid.

Radebe made his debut for his national team in his country's first post-apartheid fixture against Cameroon in 1992, having grown up in the height of the oppression.

He would be signed by Leeds United in 1994 after a breakthrough period at native outfit Kaizer Chiefs - the club which the band takes its name from, having been inspired by Radebe himself.

"I remember when we arrived at Leeds, you know, it was predominantly white," Radebe tells Leeds Live just days after being unveiled as a club ambassador. He recounts how he came to feel the love of the people of the city.

"At some point they were saying that I'm a Yorkshire[man] without the Yorkshire accent, which is nice. Because this is my contribution, but not just through football, but through the qualities and the values that as footballers we aspire to."

This in reference to the fact we are speaking at Lady Elizabeth Hastings' Primary School in Wetherby, where the Leeds United Foundation is running a workshop as part of the No Room For Racism campaign.

Radebe, Joel Piroe and Gabriel Gudmundsson are sitting at tables with pupils, who are writing poems about combating discrimination. They share conversations about their writing.

At the end of the session, some students are asked to read out their poems in front of the room before the class get to engage in a Q&A with all three esteemed guests.

"It's been really amazing," Radebe reflects afterwards, having conducted a number of community projects that week. "It's a lesson as well to me where you are meeting such great people, aspiring footballers, kids, the schools - and the progress actually, you know, what they learn about.

"It is not just their education but also in terms of the history, of different individuals, which for me is very, very important. It is hard work but I think as long as we put the positive message for those kids, for me that's important."

Given the circumstances he came from in South Africa, Radebe is keen to keep championing the anti-racism message. He believes we have come a long way both as a football community and a society.

However, there is still work to do, as highlighted by the racist abuse suffered by Antoine Semenyo in Bournemouth's opening Premier League fixture of the season at Liverpool.

And in February's Championship home match with Sunderland, Ethan Ampadu and Largie Ramazani were the subject of alleged racist abuse from a man in the away end. In general, though, Radebe is thankful such incidents are becoming less frequent.

"Through the years as a player, getting involved in programmes, I saw a lot of change and we really rolled into the community," says Radebe. "Unfortunately, we do still see [racism] sporadically, you know, like the Semenyo case.

"There will always be those cases now and then, but you can see now it's not a lot of them. So that's a lot of improvement and as long as we keep fighting.

"Getting involved, especially for the upcoming aspiring footballers - and not just footballers, but in the communities as well - the better we can create a better society."

Here at LeedsLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Leeds United coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don't miss out on the latest Leeds news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.