Dwight McNeil ethnicity made headlines in 2020 after a comment from a former soccer player. The Everton player comes from a family with a history in the sport.
The 24-year-old Everton winger Dwight McNeil is the eldest son of a former soccer player, Matty McNeil. Matty now works as an academy coach of a team in the national league.
The talented player began his youth career with Manchester United before moving to Burnley. He made 134 appearances for Burnley before signing for Everton in 2022 for a transfer fee of £20 million.
Since reconnecting with his former manager Sean Dyche, McNeil has blossomed at Everton. He has played a critical role in helping the side come out of the relegation zone and recently made a stunning strike against Newcastle United, which ended with a 3-0 win for the Toffees.
Dwight McNeil Ethnicity: Everton Player Religion And Origin
The Everton winger Dwight McNeil was born and raised in Rochdale, England. The 24-year-old player comes from a mixed-ethnic family.
Previously, Dwight had to talk about his ethnicity in the media after a factually wrong comment from former English soccer player Darren Bent.
In June 2020, when McNeil was a player for Burnley FC, a disgraceful incident happened at the Etihad Stadium. An airplane flew over the stadium with a banner that read, “White Lives Matter Burnley!”
Bent took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Strange considering Burnley have NO black players in their squad at all.” He immediately received backlash, with McNeil being the first to clap back at the former player.
McNeil wrote that as a player of Bame origin, he found Darren’s comments disrespectful, especially to his father, Matty, who is black. The former Burnley player said his father has been a tremendous influence and helped him become the person he is today.
Going through McNeil’s social media, the soccer player isn’t big on sharing too much information about his personal life. One of his posts makes us believe he might be a Christian, but he isn’t one of those athletes who post too much about his religious beliefs.
Last year, during the festive period of Christmas, McNeil donated several toys to the organization Cash for Kids Liverpool & NW. He quoted the post, “No child should wake up on Christmas without a present.”
Dwight McNeil Parents: Meet Matty And Tracy
Dwight McNeil’s parents, Matty and Tracy, have kept themselves out of the public limelight. Though Matty is a former soccer player, he never made it as far as his son.
Dwight’s dad, Matty McNeil, began his soccer career in 1996 with Altrincham and was a journeyman. He played for several sides, including Macclesfield Town, with whom he played against Chelsea in the third round of the FA Cup in the 2006-07 season.
The older McNeil ended his career at Chester after the 2011-12 season. In his 15-year-long career, McNeil made 405 appearances for 10 clubs and scored 126 goals, playing primarily as a striker.
Matty is currently an academy coach at the National League side Oldham Athletic. Previously, the father-son duo had done joint interviews for The Athletic, once during the height of COVID and the other when Dwight played for the U-21 English side.
During the interview, the McNeils revealed sometimes they watch the games back, or Matty would send small clips to his son to improve his game. When asked if he gets nervous before the games his son is playing, Matty replied, “Not really.”
But the answer to that question was the opposite for Tracy. The mother-of-three, Tracy, said, “I get really nervous, especially when it is a big game. When we got off the motorway, I felt like I was going to be sick.”
Dwight is the eldest child of Matty and Tracy and has two younger siblings, Baillie and Chiara. Matty never forced his son to follow in his footsteps, but Dwight ended up finding his feet in what has now turned into a family legacy.
