The Nahid Cup 2025
Football Unites Against Knife Crime
By Emdad Rahman
The Nahid Cup 2025 returns this August with a powerful message: to remember a life lost and rally communities against the growing epidemic of knife crime.
Taking place at Latymer School in Edmonton on Sunday 3rd August, the annual football tournament honours the memory of Nahid Ahmed, who was tragically stabbed to death in 2020. His killer, Abdi Ibrahim Osman, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years.
Now in its fifth year, the Nahid Cup has become a vital event for awareness, education, and unity, bringing together young people, families, local leaders, and faith organisations. The 8 a side tournament invites teams to participate in a day of competitive sport with a greater cause combating the root causes of street violence.
“Knife crime doesn’t just end a life, it shatters dozens more,” said Nahid’s mother, Rushanara Ahmed. “Our family will always carry the pain of losing Nahid, but through this tournament, we find strength in solidarity. We want young people to know there are alternatives. There is support. There is hope.”
A Growing Crisis
Knife crime remains one of the most pressing issues facing the UK’s urban communities. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were over 50,000 knife enabled offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with London alone accounting for more than 14,000.
Experts link the rise in knife violence to several contributing factors:
• Social exclusion and poverty
• Lack of youth services and mentoring
• Peer pressure and fear
• Drug and gang-related activity
Symptoms of this crisis manifest in both victim and perpetrator communities – trauma, fear, fractured families, and generational damage.
Events like the Nahid Cup play an essential role in tackling these issues. Football builds bridges and offers a constructive outlet for youth to engage with role models, law enforcement, and mental health advocates.
Strong Community Support
The 2025 tournament is sponsored by Urban Homes, Tuition Base, Desserts End, One Auto Group, and HMR Gas & Electric. It is supported by Jalalia Jamme Masjid, Ponders End Islamic Centre, Ace Ponders End, and the NL Enfield Football Community, organisations all united in their stand against violence.
Tournament organiser Mo Hussain shared, “This is more than football. It’s a movement for healing, peace, and prevention. If one young person walks away from this inspired to reject violence, then we’ve done our job.”
Event Info
• Date: Sunday 3rd August 2025
• Time: From 9.30am
• Location: Latymer School, N9 9TN
• Format: 8-a-side, 13-player squads
• Entry Fee: £120 per team (£50 deposit)
• Trophies: For winners and runners up
To register: Contact Mo on 07814 372359
As families, faith groups and grassroots organisations gather this summer, the Nahid Cup continues to honour a life lost far too soon and to say, powerfully and clearly, enough is enough.
