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 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 het together was to use the beautiful game to highlight knife crime, how it destroys communities and 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.
Plans are already taking place to make this landmark event an annual one.
London has one of the highest teenage homicides rates in Europe. Most of those who have died were victims of knife crime.