Footballer and pundit Nadia Nadim has revealed her mother has died after being hit by a truck – the reason she came off air during a World Cup match.
Nadim, who was born in Afghanistan and raised in Denmark, represents Denmark at international level and was on ITV’s panel for the country’s game against Tunisia on Tuesday.
However, she was not seen on screen at the end of the World Cup match in Qatar, which ended 0-0.
Now, she has shared news of her mother’s death at the age of 57.
“Tuesday morning my Mother was killed by a truck,” she wrote in a statement on Twitter and Instagram. “She was on her way back from the gym.”
A post shared by Dr Nadia Nadim (@nadi9nadim)
Nadim, who currently plays for US club Racing Louisville, went on to say that “words can not describe” how she is feeling, and added: “I have lost the most important person in my life and it happened so sudden and unexpected. She was only 57.”
Paying tribute, the football star said: “She was a warrior who had fought for every inch of her life. She didn’t give me life once but twice, and everything I/ we are is because of her. I have lost my home and I know nothings gonna ever feel the same.
“Life is unfair and I don’t understand why her and why this way. I love you and I will see you again.”
Nadim said her mother’s funeral would take place shortly and urged people to “please come and show her the love, respect and prayers she deserves”.
She did not say where her mother was killed.
As a child, the football star fled Afghanistan with her mother and sisters after her father was executed by the Taliban.
Speaking to Sky News about her experiences in 2021, she said: “My memories are divided into two parts. Before the war, I have very fond memories of the country, of our life, the safe environment. I had my mum and dad. And then I have the second part, which is the war, and after my dad was killed.
“Those memories are not nice memories, a lot of chaos, a lot of just horror. At the end, things were made very hard for us as a family to function and to see a future or feel safe.”
Read more: The refugee turned sporting superstar and her fears for women under the Taliban
The official Racing Louisville Twitter account was among those responding to Nadim’s post, saying: “We’re thinking of you and your family.”
ITV football presenter Seema Jaswal wrote: “I am heartbroken for you Nadia. Sending you and the family all the strength and love in the world to get through this. I wish I could have seen you before you left to give you a hug.”
As well as her footballing career, Nadim qualified as a doctor in January.
