ITV World Cup pundit Nadia Nadim has revealed she had to leave the studio while on air after learning that her mother had died.
The Denmark international footballer wrote on Instagram that her mother, Hadima Nadim, 57, had been killed in a collision with a truck on her way home from the gym on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old was part of ITV’s coverage of Denmark’s 0-0 draw with Tunisia in Qatar but had to leave the studio before the final whistle.
Nadim, her four sisters and their mother fled Afghanistan when she was 11, having been in hiding for three years after her father Rabani, an army general, was executed by the Taliban in 2000.
The former Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain forward wrote: “Tuesday morning my Mother was killed by a truck. She was on her way back from the gym.
“Words cannot describe what I’m feeling. I have lost the most important person in my life and it happened so sudden and unexpected.
“She was only 57. 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 nothing’s 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, who plays for National Women’s Soccer League club Racing Louisville FC in the US, added: “Her funeral is going to be soon … please come and show her the love, respect and prayers she deserves.”
After Nadim’s father’s death, Nadim’s mother sold all of their possessions to take a minivan to Karachi, southern Pakistan, where they waited two months for fake passports before taking a flight to Italy.
The family spent days hiding in a basement in Milan, then 50 hours in the back of a truck to reach what they were told was London, but turned out to be a refugee camp in rural Denmark, where Nadim discovered her love for playing football.
