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Sheffield, South
Yorkshire, July 18, 2009 – A PIONEERING Sheffield project dedicated to
breaking down racial and cultural barriers through football was
devastated this week by the death of one of its young players in a
motorway crash on the way home from a tournament in Italy.
Ahmed Hassan, aged 18, of Firth Park, was just minutes away from
Sheffield on the M1 when the minibus he was travelling in collided with
a van and overturned, trapping him underneath.
Firefighters had to lift the vehicle off Ahmed before he could be taken
to hospital but his injuries proved fatal.
Ahmed was a member of an under-18s' team which had just taken part in
the Anti-Racist World Cup tournament in Bologna.
Eight of his team-mates, aged 16 to 18 and members of Football Unites,
Racism Divides, were injured. Two were seriously hurt and airlifted to
the Northern General Hospital after the crash between junctions 31 and
32 on Monday afternoon.
The bus driver, a 40-year-old Sheffield man, was arrested on suspicion
of causing death by dangerous driving and was released on bail pending
further inquiries.
FURD was started in 1995 by a group of Sheffield United fans concerned
about a number of incidents of racist abuse in and around the stadium,
in a community where about 44% of the local youth population is black or
Asian.
Since then, the project has gone from strength to strength, working with
clubs to help bring together people from different backgrounds to play,
watch and enjoy the game. It is committed to breaking down barriers
created by ignorance or prejudice.
Project coordinator Howard Holmes said everyone connected to the project
was coming to terms with the loss of "a team-mate and a friend".
The group had been taking part in a festival alongside 200 teams from
across the world. "The event is built on a bedrock of
anti-discrimination, diversity and inclusivity, of which the FURD team
was the very embodiment," said Mr Holmes.
"The players come from all corners of the earth – Brazil, Somaliland,
Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Georgia, Poland, Chile and Yemen – and mixed
with the local lads who were born and bred in Sheffield.
"They were one of the youngest teams in the competition and reached the
last 16 where they were knocked out by the eventual winners. The trip
was their reward for being such positive ambassadors for the Football
Unites project."
Mr Holmes added: "After four years training together as a team, they had
not only become an effective unit on the field, doing well in the
Sheffield under-18 league last season, but a close-knit group of friends
off it, who looked out for each other and looked up to those who trained
them.
"During their brief stay in Bologna, they gained much admiration from
fellow teams and organizers alike for the manner in which they played
the game and their mature outlook, particularly in the face of defeat.
"They were a credit to FURD and a shining example of how young people
from disparate communities can find common ground.
"Our urgent priority is to arrange help and support for all the young
people involved in this tragedy and their families."
Paul Rodda, one of the teenagers involved in the smash, said: "Ahmed was
a very nice young boy – we spent one night in our room during the
tournament, me, him and my friend who was also involved, and we were
talking about religion and what he loved.
"He had all Michael Jackson's songs on his phone and he was a very good
Muslim. Me and the driver were talking to him while he died."
Last Updated: 16 July 2009 9:17 AM
Source: Sheffield Telegraph, 16 July 2009
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