A Nigerian born man, Efe Obada, who was trafficked with his sister to London from the Netherlands at the age of ten has been picked for the new National Football League season.
According to ITV news, Obada was a child refugee trafficked to the UK and forced to spend time on the streets of London.
The 26-year-old started playing American football for British outfit London Warriors in 2014.
Obada, however, moved to the US to pursue the sport and has now been selected by Carolina Panthers in their 53-man roster for the new campaign.
Obada said it meant “the world” for him to be able to compete at the game’s highest level, having been first introduced to the sport through Channel 4.
The defensive end admitted that he was expecting to be released by the Panthers at the draft, which sees teams whittled down from 90 players to 53.
Obada is the first player from the NFL’s International Pathway Program to make it onto a final roster.
Obada thanked his fans on his Twitter page, he wrote;
“Thank you all for the love & support. I can’t wait to grind this season. Words can’t express the way I feel but I am truly grateful.”
See some tweets by Carolina Panthers
“I’m proud to be a Carolina Panther!” – @EfeObadaUK pic.twitter.com/9be4tINwsv
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 1, 2018
Efe Obada describes how he found out he made the final roster pic.twitter.com/9vvoiPh5MZ
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) September 2, 2018
Pep is the kind of player that wears his helmet to stretch. #AlwaysReady pic.twitter.com/PhhsbNj6av
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 4, 2018
