Nearly seventy games played, about 20 goals scored, Nadia Nadim is a pillar of the Danish National Team. Born in Afghanistan, refugee in Denmark, the first foreign player (in both men and women teams) to wear the red and white jersey. She is twenty-nine years old and represents the symbol of successful integration. The future of this soccer player was far from being obvious.
Red shirt on the shoulders, number nine on the back, the Danish anthem in the background, ready to face Belgium for her first match of the Euro, Nadia Nadim remembers that time when, still a child, she dreamed of success. "I do not remember a particular dream I had when I was living in Afghanistan, but I always wanted to succeed", she explained a few years ago. While she was watching soccer with her father in the protected garden of the family home, and was dreaming of success, Nadia Nadim did not suspect that it will be linked to soccer. At that time, all the conditions were gathered so that the young Afghani can never play that game. For the Taliban, who have been leading the life of the Afghans since 1996, sport is “haram”. From soccer, they liked only stadiums, where they practice execution, stoning or amputations.
Nadia Nadim was lucky to grow up in an open-minded home. Her father was a general in the Afghan National Army. Her mother was a school director. Among the Nadim, religion does not govern the life of the family. "I was an educated woman. I knew the difference between true and false, and what religion was, so I never imposed religion on my children, "explained Hamida, the mother.
Fan of soccer, the father tried to convert his girls to that sport: "He was crazy, and he was trying to transmit his love of the game to his five daughters," Nadia Nadim told the FIFA website in February. "We sometimes played with my father in our garden when we were young. We were not allowed to play sports or play with boys, but most of the houses in Afghanistan were guarded and protected, so nobody could see us. Nadia was happy in spite of the fear that the new Afghan regime inspires. However, her life changed in 2000. Her father, who has gone for an appointment, will never come back. The family learned a few days later that he was executed by the Taliban.
Without a man at her side, Hamida Nadim could not live with her five girls under a regime imposing the presence of a man for absolutely everything. The six ladies have no choice but to flee their country. The idea was to go to London to join some relatives already living there. Pakistan was the first step, then Italy and finally Denmark. Landing accidentally in northern Europe, Nadia, her mother and sisters decided to stay. As asylum seekers they used to move between refugee camps. It is in the last one, near Aalborg, that Nadia began to do what was forbidden for her in her native country. With the other children of the camp, she used to run into the forest to recover lost balls during the training sessions of the football club next door. She played soccer with girls and even with boys.
From that time, Nadia will never stop playing soccer. Her athletic qualities, technique and pure talent impress. It was at a regional tournament that Brian Sørenson, his future mentor, discovered her. "I thought we had the best team and we were going to win everything. GUG Boldklub had taken Nadia and two of her sisters, Giti and Diana, and the three were doing things that no other girl could do: dribbling, playing the ball in the air, passing with the entire surface of the foot. You could see that they used to play with men. I thought, "Wow, they are gifted. How do I get them on my team?" "
American Dream and medical studies:
Everything then goes fast in the life of Nadia Nadim. She spent six seasons with the IK Skovbakken and three more with Fortuna Hjørring, one of the best clubs in the country. Just after having obtained the Danish nationality, she became a player of the national team. But Nadia is a woman of defiance. Having successfully won in her adoption country, the player needs a new challenge: to succeed on the other side of the Atlantic, where women's soccer is king. It was a great success once again. She is now the undisputed starter player of the Portland Thorns, but also of the Denmark Team.
The twenty-nine-year-old lady was not blinded by her success. In parallel to her career as a player, she joined a medical university school to become a surgeon: "I always wanted to succeed, because money makes life easier. My mother did not have the simplest life and I want to help her. By becoming a doctor, I can earn money, help my mother and help others". Nadia Nadim has become a symbol for a whole generation of young Afghan refugees. She became a professional soccer player and soon a doctor, far from the family garden where she made her first juggling trying to be out of the eyes of the Taliban. "I felt I was accomplishing something beyond football. I have changed people's opinions about what girls can or cannot do, and that means a lot. "
Source: www.sofoot.com