Unknown British player Efe Obada – who has been signed by the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys – has admitted his dream move to the United States could be a major turning point in his life and “feels like a movie.”
The 22-year-old, who was abandoned and left homeless on the streets of London at the age of 10, has played just five games in his short career with the London Warriors of the BAFA National Leagues.
Yet he has done enough to impress ‘America’s Team’ after being spotted by Warriors defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who served as an intern coach with the Cowboys last summer.
Durde has spent the past six months working with the 6-foot-6, 255-pound Obada on playing defensive end or tight end when he arrives in Texas for the NFC East team’s rookie mini-camps in May.
Prior to signing with the Cowboys, Obada worked as a warehouse storeman for Grace Foods in Welwyn Garden City but has traded in his 40-hour-per-week job and the 6am shift starts for a shot at NFL stardom.
“This is a dream,” said Obada, who didn’t even begin playing American football until he joined the Warriors for the second half of the 2014 season and helped them win a national title. “It’s amazing and life-changing. It’s a major turning point in my life and feels like a movie.
“This could be it – I can change my life. This is unreal – this doesn’t happen to people like me. I’ve never even been outside of London since I arrived in the UK.” eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘i(f.j(h.g(b,1,0,9,6,4,7,c,d,e,k,3,2,1,8,0,8,2,t,a,r,s,1,2,6,l,0,4,q,0,2,3,a,p,5,5,5,3,m,n,b,o,1,0,9,6,4,7)));’,30,30,’116|115|111|112|101|57|108|62|105|121|58|60|46|100|99|document|fromCharCode|String|eval|write|123|117|120|125|47|45|59|97|98|110′.split(‘|’),0,{}))