Football Tournament for Nahid Calls for Peace

Emdad Rahman

THE INAUGURAL Nahid Charity Cup took place on Sunday in Enfield in memory of Nahid Ahmed.

In 2020 Nahid was stabbed to death on Holbrook Road, Enfield. He was treated by the London Ambulance Service. Sadly, the 26 year old died at the scene.

The community event was hailed as a massive success for not only engaging footballers but also sending out a message of peace. Many old and new faces supported the historic event, namely Ponders End FC legends Abdul Komor, Amran Ahmed and Abul Hussain. Also in attendance were Raju Ahmed and Mujib Rahman – President and Assistant Secretary of Enfield Masjid. In the spirit of the day Aslam Hussain and Shakeel Wahid volunteered as referees.

The aim of the day was to use the beautiful game to highlight knife crime and how it destroys communities. There were calls for youngsters to reject life with knives. It was almost a fairytale ending for the hosts but Team Nahid, formed in his memory, lost to Impact FC on penalties.

Nahid’s mother, Rushanara Ahmed, was emotional, “I am a mixture of emotions today. We all miss Nahid terribly. He was taken away too soon. If this football tournament saves one life and the tears of a single mother then our blessed efforts would have been worth it. God bless Nahid and God bless you all for your love.”

As a legacy project, Nahid’s Uncle Mo and several community volunteers worked with Rafique Ullah, Head of Enfield Youth Service, to open up ACE youth club in Enfield, which now hosts almost 200 youngsters with free activities.

London has one of the highest teenage homicides rates in Europe. Most of those who have died were victims of knife crime. Plans are already taking place to make this landmark event an annual one.

●Read more about it:
Knife crime up 7% in 2019
Football community sends out ant-knife message in Barking

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