After beating the odds in the NFL, Obada turns to helping children in care

LONDON, Aug 12 : Efe Obada spent a decade defying the odds in the NFL after rising from a traumatic childhood marked by trafficking, foster care and homelessness in London.

Now, the 34-year-old believes his real life's work will begin on Wednesday as he retires from football and launches a foundation aimed at helping young people in care.

Obada credits American football with transforming his life and says the Efe Obada Foundation will use sport, mentoring and support services to help foster children and young adults rebuild confidence and unlock opportunities.

"I'm ready to step away from it while I'm still healthy and while I can pour some of that elite energy into the next chapter," 34-year-old Obada, who made 73 NFL appearances as a defensive end for the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders, told Reuters.

Obada's life might have taken a very different path had a college friend not suggested he try American football.

Having been illegally trafficked to Britain from Nigeria as a young child with his sister and abandoned on the streets of South London, he entered the care system and lived with 10 foster families before turning 18.

"I was robbed of a lot of my childhood," he said. "There was a lot of anger built up, there was a lot of discontent, there was a lot of energy that could have gone to a negative place."

FATE INTERVENES

Obada only took up American football at the age of 21 and signed up with the London Warriors where his 6ft 6inch frame helped him stand out. Then fate intervened.

On the recommendation of Warriors coach Aden Durde, Obada was invited to train with the Dallas Cowboys before one of their NFL London fixtures and suddenly the door to a life he could never have imagined swung open.