“When I was young, I got the heartbreaking news that the Taliban had executed my father,” Nadia Nadim said in a statement to the Independent, UK. Born in 1988 in Herat, Afghanistan, Nadim was only 11 when her father, a general in the Afghan Army, was murdered by the Taliban. With forged documents, Nadim along with her mother and four sisters, fled Afghanistan for Pakistan, and gradually made their way to Europe.
“We planned to escape to London, where we had a few relatives, and with forged passports we came to Italy through Pakistan,” she says. “From there, I and my entire family went on a truck, thinking we were heading towards London. After a few days, we all turfed of the truck, expecting to see Big Ben. We did not. All we saw was trees. We asked a passer-by and found out that the bus had dropped us in Denmark.”
After they made Denmark their new home, Nadim began her career playing for the B52 Aalborg club. In 2009, she made her debut for the Danish national team during the Algarve Cup, and has since earned a reputation as a prolific goal scorer, and has helped take her team to several victories. In fact, her goal at the 2017 European Championship is considered the highlight of her impressive career. However, her performance at the French League title in the 2020-21 season with Paris Saint-Germain has, today, earned her the title of one of the most influential football players in Denmark.
However, apart from her skill on the field, according to report by CNN, Nadim is training to become a reconstructive surgeon. A medical student at Aarhus University, Nadim plans to complete her degree after she retires from professional football.
While her story is documented in her autobiography (My Autobiography – Nadia Nadim; read it on: nadiandim.com), it recently began to gain attention again after a user took to Twitter to sing her praises. Twitter user, Barista Barrister posted: “Father killed by Taliban in Afghanistan when she was 11, fled to Denmark. Scored 200 goals & represented the Danish national team 98 times. studying to be a surgeon. Speaks 11 languages, on the Forbes list of Powerful Women. show your daughter a role model, show her Nadia Nadim!”
But, when she’s not playing football, you’ll find Nadim engaging in ambassadorial work for the United Nations as well as other charity work.