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Perpetua Nkwocha, a professional female football player from Nigeria, has had an amazing career. She is based in Skelleftea, Sweden and has played for the Swedish football club Sunnanå SK. She currently coaches the club Clemensnäs IF. While playing for the Nigerian national team The Super Falcons, she was the top scorer in the Africa Women Cup of Nations three times. She was voted African Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011 by the Confederation of African Football. Plus, she played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup four times and the Olympic tournaments of Sydney, Athens, and Beijing. Now, she is doing something equally as amazing – coaching young refugees in Sweden.
Helping the kids assimilate
The initiative, called Football For All, was created by Nkwocha’s club, the local football union and the Swedish church to aid some of the young migrants that have arrived in the country.
“It is really a way of giving these immigrants and refugees something to do during the day,” said Jens Karlsson, the chairman of Clemensnas. “If they love soccer they can come here and practise with Perpetua, who is a great soccer player – so that’s the purpose of the whole thing, to help in the immigration of these guys.”
Clemensäs’ website states that the goal of the project is to help integrate the young players into society, so there is no feeling of “us vs. them.” By being part of a team, the kids are able to get some exercise, make friends, and improve their Swedish-speaking skills.
Achieving her dream
Coaching and encouraging young players has always been a dream for Nkwocha. Back in 2014, she told BBC:
“My dream is to encourage the young ones, to tell them [that] if they have talent for football, they need someone who can encourage them.”
Now she has made her dream a reality with this project. This winter, she has been coaching a team of young immigrants from Afghanistan. Nkwocha believes that anyone can learn the sport and that football has no language. She can also relate to their struggles as she once was new to this country as well. Even though the winters are tough, now Nkwocha loves living in Skelleftea. She said she tries to keep the young ones happy since she knows where they came from.
“I feel so glad that I connected with them and we started this project together. We try to make them feel welcome, try to make them feel happy, try to make them get friends and associate with other Swedish [people].”
When football season resumes in May, she will have to shift her focus back to coaching Clemensnäs. But for now Perpetua is enjoying her time with the project.
“I feel so great being with these lovely children here. I feel like I’m home.”
SEE ALSO: Cristiano Ronaldo Makes An 8-Year-Old Syrian Refugee’s Dream Come True.
