WITHAM TOWN have strengthened their midfield by signing Cockfosters midfielder Ahmed Mohammed.
Midfielder Ben Search and defender Kahlil Kirwan-Meade have also joined Town – from Concord Rangers and Tower Hamlets respectively – but it is Mohammed’s story that captures the eye.
Mohammed, 25, came to the UK as a teenage refugee from civil war in Nigeria and slept on the streets aged 14.
Unable to speak English, he ended up in foster care, and yet managed to leave school in Tottenham with ten GCSEs.
He was granted leave to remain in 2016 following a four-year battle aided by Tottenham MP David Lammy.
Now he works for Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, where he helps keep young people away from crime as an employment adviser. The foundation’s 12-week course helps them gain core academic skills and interview techniques.
Ahmed formerly played for Hertford Town, Ware, Hanwell Town, North Greenford United. Waltham Forest and Reading Town.