there s a space here, you know, for africans. does it have a big following in africa? yeah, there s flag football. there s you know, there s lots of talent. i m telling you, there s so much talent. you know, i need the nfl to kind of go over there and understand that, you know, africa is an untapped market in terms of talent for the nfl and sports in general. the final chapters of 0bada s story have yet to be written, but few would bet against a hollywood ending. since birth, 0bada has been fighting against forces beyond his control. this has truly been a journey against the odds. anything you d like to achieve before you hang up your cleats? there s quite a lot of things. i want to obviously, love to win the super bowl. you know, i think that s the ultimate goal. as you know in your career, there s hall of fame. never achieved the super bowl. so i would love to do that. pro bowl. i d love to do that as well, and experience that. i feel like those games
to efe s advantage. in the context of 0bada s life, fighting for a place in pro football is just another obstacle that s been overcome. born in warri, nigeria, 0bada left the country of his birth with his sister, age five or six, and moved to the netherlands, where he remembers meeting his mother for the first time. at ten, he and his sister were trafficked to the uk and abandoned. the pair were looked after by a security guard in hackney before social services took them in. from there they moved from home to home, never truly settling and endured no end of hardship. how much do you remember of your early days in this country? just, just a normal. just normal kids really just going to school, wanting to go college, university, playing outside, you know, it sjust regularstuff, really. how much of what happened to you in those early days, do you think shaped who you are as a person now? i thinkjust the, in terms of growing up in foster care,
for not for long due to the short career span at the top of the game. this makes 0bada s longevity, coupled with his unusual rise to the top, all the more impressive. the average career in. the nfl is three years, 3.3 to be exact. so the fact that somebody who s come from his background, - come from the places - that he came from, not played the game for an extended period of time, has been in the nfl- for double the league average, is a testament to this guy s - character it s a testament to his athletic ability, - the testament to his will, his spirit. - and he s going to keep - on playing for quite a few more years, we expect. he s intelligent. he s very aggressive, very, very athletic, . his size, obviously. so all those things you combine into one person and you have a guy who s been in the league for. seven years now. as a seven year veteran of the nfl, 0bada has lived in various cities and states across the usa. american football has given him a life he could have only dream
and yeah, so it was it was very helpful. i was going to say, has it made you a better player, do you feel? 100%. you know, it made me definitely more confident, made me more trust in my abilities and where i come from. initially, i had the imposter syndrome and i feel like that s gone. like, i ve accepted my role and who i am as a person. and i ve kind of detached from my past and my internal voice and who i see. it s not it s not as negative. and even when it does get negative and when i do dip, i have the tools and the recognition and the awareness to to understand that, 0k, well, ifeel this way instead of catastrophising or spiralling, you know, into a certain point. efe 0bada, the fifth - year man out of nigeria with his first sack of the season. former pro coachjerry glanville once famously declared that nfl stands for not for long due to the short career span at the top of the game. this makes 0bada s longevity, coupled with his unusual rise to the top, all the more impressive.
0k, well, if i can, if i do this and i can be physical, and that kind of what s drawn me to it. 0bada s progress was rapid and he became the first player to go straight from the european football league to the nfl. but reaching the pinnacle is one thing, staying there, another thing entirely. after spells in dallas, kansas city and atlanta, the breakthrough came in charlotte. from there, the journey continued in buffalo and ultimately washington. the average nfl career lasts a little more than three years, and as an outsider, that battle for acceptance can be long and arduous. it took me a while. it took me a while, because initially it was, ok, i m in a different country, different culture. then it s like i m playing a sport that i ve never played before. and not only am i navigating real life in a different country, i m also trying to learn a different sport and train my body and this different lifestyle as an athlete learn the different languages and the terminologies and just learn