LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 100 students from Jefferson County Public Schools’ Newcomer Academy honored Louisville Racing FC player Nadia Nadim at the Muhammad Ali Center Thursday. 

What You Need To Know

  • Nadia Nadim has played for Louisville Racing FC since 2021

  • As a child, Nadim fled Afghanistan after her father was killed by the Taliban

  • Today she tells her story to inspire kids going through similar situations

  • The professional soccer player met with over 100 students from Newcomer Academy

The students, who are all immigrants starting a new life in the United States, got to meet Nadim and see a movie about her life. 

When she was 9-years-old, the Taliban killed her father, and her family was forced to flee their home country of Afghanistan. After settling in Denmark, Nadim found her calling, soccer. 

Racing Louisville's Nadia Nadim speaks to Newcomer Academy students at Muhammad Ali Center (Spectrum News 1/Mason Brighton)

“I hope it’s somehow going to help them realize that they are not alone in this journey and even though you had a really tough start in life, you can still manage to have a decent life,” Nadim said. 

At the celebration, the school’s Afghan Choir, made up of 30 students who also fled Afghanistan, sang Nadim a song about their home country. 

Tenth grader Nilofar Mohammad Khil also shared her story about escaping Afghanistan after surviving a Taliban attack. 

“In August 2021,  the Taliban tried to kill me when I was walking to English class. I was a girl who wanted to learn English. It was my crime,” Khil said. 

Nadim joined Racing Louisville FC in 2021 and has made many trips to Newcomer Academy over the last few years.

“I’m super excited for them to see my journey because I think it’s something they can relate to,” Nadim said. “They’re in the same position and it’s a good way just to connect with the kids again.”

Scott Wade, a teacher at Newcomer Academy, explains why it is so important for his students to hear the success stories of people like Nadim. 

“Every student in that room right there has some story that is unimaginable to us. Going without food, leaving their family, many kids are separated. They need role models. They need someone to say, ‘yeah, this is possible,’” Wade said. 

This was Nadim’s message to the young kids going through the same struggles she did at their age. 

“No matter how hopeless your situation is, no matter how hard the start of your life has been, don’t give up. You know it’s possible you can turn it around, just work for it. It’s possible because I’ve done it,” Nadim said. “If I can do it, you can do it too.”

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