Carolina Panthers: Efe Obada and the American dream

Efe Obada was recently highlighted here at CSR so this is as good of a time as any to give some props to the NFL for its International Pathway Program. The IPP launched in 2017 and gave each of the teams in the NFC South an additional spot on the practice squad for a foreign born player. The goals of the program include expanding the NFL’s global reach while developing players from outside of the United States to help them live the American dream.

Call me a sucker if you want, but I love underdog stories. Movies like The Rookie, Invincible, and Million Dollar Arm are right in my wheelhouse. So yes, I’m rooting for Nigerian-born, London-raised Efe Obada to fulfill his NFL dream.

Obada was born in Nigeria then trafficked from the Netherlands to England where he was left abandoned and homeless at age 10. His rise from homelessness to warehouse worker to the London Warriors to the Dallas Cowboys (and now the Panthers) is incredible. I’d encourage you to read Obada’s entire story here at NFLUK.com.

While Obada becoming a successful NFL player is improbable, it’s not impossible. Just look at the Detroit Lions’ Ezekiel (Ziggy) Ansah.

As a BYU fan I had the joy of watching Ansah develop from playing “American football” for the first time in 2010 into a first round pick in 2013. Ansah’s story in a nutshell is he was born in Ghana, arrived at BYU in 2008 as a former soccer player with basketball aspirations, but he got cut from the basketball team in both 2008 and 2009. He walked on the track team in 2009 then finally listened to friends and coaches who told him to try out for the football team. When he first showed up on the football field he didn’t know where the end zone was. He didn’t know how to put on pads. He didn’t know how to get in a defensive stance or how to tackle.

Three years later Ansah was the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft, recorded 8.0 sacks in his rookie season, and was selected to the 2013 All-Rookie Team. In 2015 his 14.5 sacks where third in the NFL and made him a Pro Bowl selection. He went from clueless to dominant in five short years.

Some foreign-born aspiring football players just need a chance. They need coaching, equipment, and infrastructure. Football lacks the access of soccer and basketball where kids can just gather and play with minimal cost and virtually zero adult oversight. Competitive football players can’t develop that way. They need an organized support staff assisting them almost every step of the way.

Obada told the NFL UK his life “is a dream” and “feels like a movie.”

Call me a sucker, but I hope this is a movie with a happy ending.