Football has never been just a hobby for Jawahir Roble; it’s her passion.
Born in Somalia, the 25-year-old grew up playing football with friends. They would spend almost every waking minute kicking a ball around the beaches until their parents called them in for dinner.
She loved it. She loved her “beautiful” country. But civil war changed all that.
Somalia was plunged into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Following his ouster, clan warlords and militants battled for control, sparking mayhem nationwide.
No longer safe in their own home, Roble’s family fled to England when she was just 10 years old.
She still remembers the journey and her parents telling her not to speak to anyone until they got to the airport.
“I never, ever, in a million years, dreamed of leaving Somalia,” she told CNN Sport.
“We struggled a lot as a family because imagine […] nobody speaks English in a whole new country. Who is going to fill out the papers? It was difficult.”
