Cricket

Cricket was the first sport to be taken up by the community with the Derby Caribs Cricket team being formed by young men from Jamaica and Barbados, such as Ken Reid, Charles Hill, and Alf Mclean.  By the 1970s they had first and seconds senior teams, and under sixteen teams playing in a National Caribbean league and the local county leagues.

Derby Caribs evolved and during the late 1970s Crusaders Sports was formed with football, netball and cricket teams. The cricket teams were all very successful, playing across the county and winning many trophies including the prestigious Butterley Cup.  

Key players of the time included Ses MacDonald, Everton Haslam, Glen Edwards and Vernal Cooper. 

Football

Football was the next sport to establish itself within the community, with two prominent teams, Caribbean Allstars and Rainbow Athletic, playing in the Derby Sunday leagues in the 1970s and 80s. They regularly won leagues and cup competitions, including Rainbow Athletic going unbeaten and completing a treble in 1983.

The teams had some of the best players in Derby at the time and in another period would have seen some become full-time professionals. These included Lloyd Richards who played professionally for Notts County, and others who played at semi-professional level such as Donald Wilkinson, Dave Cooper, and Kenton Black. 

Netball

Up to the late 1970s netball for young Black girls was limited to schools and within majority white teams. The establishment of Crusaders Sports provided an opportunity for more girls of Caribbean heritage to play locally and, in conjunction with DWIA, travel to places like Birmingham and London to play other Caribbean teams.

The netball teams were very successful and included fantastic local players such as Anita Robinson, Beverley Cooper, Sharon Dale, Sharon Scott, Yvonne Rule and Hazel Wright.