Efe Obada

Efe Obada is a British-Nigerian gridiron football defensive tackle, most recently for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Raised across the Netherlands and England, he became the first player in history to go straight from a European American football league into the NFL.

Born in Nigeria, Obada and his family later moved to the Netherlands and then he and his sister were trafficked to the UK at the age of 10. What followed was a childhood shaped by the care system, where they lived in 10 different foster homes before aging out onto the streets. Whilst this story isn’t all he wants to be known for, he wants to serve as an inspiration to anyone who can relate or has struggled with a similar story and use his platform to leave a lasting legacy beyond the field.

Obada’s American football career kickstarted at the London Warriors, of the BAFA National Leagues in 2014 with just raw potential and a drive to succeed. A recommendation led to a Dallas Cowboys try out, held just days before the Cowboys’ London game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Obada had barely any experience to speak of, but The Cowboys signed him, in April 2015.

Two years later, the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program brought him to the Carolina Panthers and he wasted no time making history. Off the back of a standout preseason, Obada became the first player from the Pathway Program to ever make a 53-man roster.

He spent four years in Carolina, with one moment standing out above the rest: being named honorary captain for the Panthers’ 2019 London Game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a full-circle moment for a player who’d started out playing amateur football in the city. From there, Obada signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills in April 2021, before closing out his playing career with the Washington Commanders.

Now retired from playing, Efe is turning his attention to what comes next. He remains an ambassador across several charities and organisations, but he’s determined to build something of his own. His focus now is on empowering young people with lived care experience to take ownership of their futures, and creating a fairer, more inclusive path forward for the generation coming up behind him.