American football players Jay Ajayi and Efe Obada have been on quite a journey from Hackney to the multi-million dollar world of the National Football League (NFL).
Meet Efe Obada and Jay Ajayi
Born in Nigeria, Obada was abandoned at age 10 with his 11-year-old sister on the streets of Hackney. He had been trafficked into the country from Holland by a friend of his mother.
The pair slept in the foyer of a tower block for days with no idea where they would go. Their mother, who had promised to meet them in London, never made it to England.
Five years later, after they were adopted by a family in Stockwell, Obada and his sister were placed into the hands of social services. Moving from home to home, he joined a gang and lost three friends to street violence.
Last summer Obada told fan website NFL UK: “My life could have gone bad or good and I decided I wasn’t going down that road. I lost a lot of friends and I saw people coming and going and I decided that was not the life for me or my sister.”
While studying at Lambeth College, a friend invited him to train with American football team London Warriors, who work with at-risk young people and have helped many to leave gang culture.
After just five games with the London side, a successful trial with the Dallas Cowboys saw Obada on his way to the US.
The route to the NFL
ICYMI – ??, @efe_obada signed for the @Chiefs yesterday! #NFLUK
? ?? https://t.co/4YGdSbmzdy pic.twitter.com/a5kVRrMfCd
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) March 11, 2016
“He had his trial in London with the Cowboys and he measured just absolutely off the charts,” British NFL writer Dan Turner told Hackney Post. “One of the most athletic players you could ever hope to see. Essentially he ran faster than most wide receivers can run.”
Last year, he spent the summer with the Dallas Cowboys but was dropped from the team and signed to their practice squad for developing young players.
He has now signed his second NFL contract and will enter training camp on a mission to play in the regular season for the Kansas City Chiefs, and despite his talents, Turner believes that making the roster will be “a tough challenge” for Obada.
Turner adds that although the ex-Warrior doesn’t like talking about his teenage years, they have given him a “serious determination to succeed”.
“He basically goes seven days a week at the moment training, while most players will still be on their holidays. He’s just so desperate to succeed. He knows that if this doesn’t work out for him, he’ll be back in warehouses again, even back in London.”
While a starting position lies a long way ahead of Obada, Miami Dolphins’ running back Jay Ajayi looks set for a breakout year. Raised in Manor House, he moved to the states at the age of seven.
Drafted in the fifth round from Boise State University, Ajayi could be the starter in Miami after the team allowed Lamar Miller to leave when his contract expired.
The 22-year-old attended his first Arsenal game last week and described meeting his hero, Thierry Henry, as a “dream come true”.
The future prospects
??? @JayTrain23 is ready for his first ever @Arsenal game! #AFC pic.twitter.com/HVkpfY7yZy
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) March 2, 2016
Earlier this month, Ajayi also visited pupils at a school in Kennington.
He told the London Evening Standard: “It was great to talk to these kids so they can believe they can chase their own dreams. I want to be a role model and someone they can aspire to.”
Turner says Ajayi is a quality player, although a degenerative knee injury could hinder his career.
“He has all the tools for a running back, I would say he can be a top 10 running back in the NFL, even as early as this season,” predicts Turner.
Obada’s future is harder to predict but Turner believes his work ethic could take him to the top. “With Obada it’s very tough, his upside is just through the roof, there’s no outside linebacker in the NFL who has the same athleticism. But he just has so much to learn. There’s a chance that he’ll never play a professional snap but there’s also a chance that he could be a star.”
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Featured image credit: Bill Kostroun/AP/Press Association Images
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