Early Life
Campbell was born in Plaistow to Jamaican parents Sewell and Wihelmina. He was the youngest of twelve children, nine of whom were boys. His father Sewell was a railway worker and his mother Wihelmina was a Ford factory worker. Despite growing up in a rough neighbourhood, Campbell veered away from a life of crime due to his strict parents.
"I became a recluse within my own house. I became insular because at home there was no space to grow or to evolve, everything was tight and there was no room to breathe. People don't realise how that affects you as a kid. I wasn't allowed to speak, so my expression was football."
Campbell attended the Portway Primary School in Stratford, London and had secondary education at Lister Community School in Plaistow, London. He was a prodigious schoolboy talent and was part-educated at the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall, where he met table tennis player and later football agent Sky Andrew. Campbell signed for Tottenham Hotspur after a short spell with West Ham United, beginning his career as a striker.
Read more about this topic: Sol Campbell
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