Nyambe’s dream come true

NAMIBIAN soccer player Ryan Nyambe realized one of his lifelong dreams when he came up against Manchester United in the English FA Cup on Sunday.

He was an unused substitute in Blackburn’s 2-1 defeat against United.

Nyambe was born in Katima Mulilo in 1997, but raised in Windhoek by his aunt, before he left for England in 2006 to join his mother in Blackburn, Lancashire.

He soon made his mark as a football player and in 2014 joined Blackburn Rovers Academy. In 2015 he was awarded a three-year professional contract by Rovers and in December last year he made his full debut for Blackburn against Huddersfield Town.

Since then he has played 10 matches for Blackburn in the English Football League Championship, as well as three matches in the FA Cup.

In a recent BBC, Nyambe said Sunday’s match against Manchester United was a dream come true.

“I’ve always been a red fan. It’s going to be an amazing feeling, I’m a red, so it will be great to play against them. Playing against Manchester United is a dream come true,” he said in a thick English accent.

In the video he mentions meeting President Hage Geingob on a recent visit to Namibia.

“When I went back to Namibia I met the president – he’s a big sports fan and he likes football a lot of course.”

Nyambe said it was tough at first in England but he was thankful for the opportunity that his mother granted him.

“It was a good thing for her, because she got an opportunity and took it and came here. She brought me here and that gave me an opportunity as well. It was a really hard time, but I came through it and was happy to come to England,” he said.

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