Well, welcome to our studio, Nadia and Adam.

Thanks for being here.

I hardly know where to begin with your amazing story.

Let's just start at the beginning.

Tell us what life was like for you growing up first in Afghanistan and then when everything changed.

Sure.

Well, thanks for having me.

So we're excited.

I've heard I'm one of your first guest.

So cool.

Yeah.

And to back to my story and where it started.

And as you mentioned, I was born in Afghanistan and my dad was in the Afghan army.

He was a general.

So we did use to move a lot.

But what I remember is mostly from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, had a really nice upbringing, safe environment.

My mom was a inspector at school when I was working.

Didn't see him a lot.

And so, yeah, really happy memories until the Taliban gained power and everything changed for the worse.

My dad was executed because he was a general and had, I guess, a decent amount of power.

Brutally executed and and made it very hard for us to have normal life just because some of the laws that they brought with them.

One of them was that women were not allowed to go to school and kids.

I mean, I was not allowed to go because I was a girl attend school.

And even basic daily chores as going buying groceries became like an impossible task because you have to every time you went outside the house, you have to be accompanied by a male.

And it was my mom and five girls.

So we were five sisters.

So six women.

And so it was I know it was impossible, honestly, to have a normal daily life.

And we did try to survive.

Stay low profile.

We used to move around the law just to maintain a normal routine by certain point, my mom realized that this there's no future, there's no hope.

So she sold everything she had.

Our house, her jewelry found, and people that could take her out of the country.

And I guess human smugglers.

And yeah, I mean, I was around eight, nine years old.

Nine years old.

And I remember everything quite vividly.

And I remember that we had to be like, really low profile.

Don't say goodbye to anyone.

Because if people find out that you flee the country and the Taliban find out you going to be in trouble, or even killed.

And we were put in these small minivans, middle of the night and transported to the Pakistani border, and it was easy to cross the border because Afghanistan Pakistan has a huge border.

And you can basically just sneak in without any fun.

And then we were staying in an apartment complex in Karachi for a month and a half and waiting for this human smuggler, which was like a Pakistani do to with a little mustache, gold chains.

I remember him so well, like shiny hair, too big of a belly ties.

And he would come once or twice a week and say what the update was on the situation.

So we're basically waiting for him to find a passport that will match our profiles and people will probably ask, why could they just not travel with their own passport?

So when you are in a war zone, a one country airport, the first thing must be shut down and your passports are not really going to help you anywhere.

So we needed to have a Pakistani passport to be able to get out of the country.

Sonia He will come every second week and be I have two passport that matches your two kids.

I can send them to Netherlands or I can send them to this country.

And my mom would say, No, we need to stay together.

And also a month and a half he came one day and he's like this If I have the passports of matches you guys profile the day after tomorrow, we are going to, like, fly out.

He came case a bunch of like Pakistani clothes and told us that you are not supposed to be caught speaking any other language because if they find out you are not who you say you are, you're going to get back sent back to Afghanistan, highly likely like get prison or killed and your money is lost.

And then at eight nine year old.

Yeah, just terrified, I imagine.

800%.

You know, it's it's weird like when when I speak about the time and tell the story people, it's hard for people to understand, like how your mindset is going to be.

But you also have to understand.

I know we were really young.

My youngest just a we're younger than me.

I'm the second oldest.

But when you are in that situation where it's about survival, it's like, you know, let's really survive.

You know, there is like, I knew that my mom then had to come and come explain us.

Listen, I want you guys to behave.

There was no time for it or all.

We going to go on a journey.

We're going to be on travel.

No, nothing.

We just follow orders.

Mama would say no one says anything, and we would not talk for days because, you know, it's you can feel the tension in the air and, you know, it's is the reality.

So, yeah, we did, as was told then say anything.

And next thing I know, I was in the airplane first I went to airplane, not super excited.

I used to love flying.

Now I've been flown.

So I hate.

And yeah, the stewardess came, gave me some soda and some little, you know, like color crayons to color.

And next thing I know, we were in Italy, so we wanted to somehow end up in UK because we had family who had immigrated ages ago and we wanted to unite with them.

But this was before 911.

So I guess a lot of the story, like it kind of makes sense because at that time airport security wasn't that intense as it is right now.

So I assume you could bribe people and it was easier to get through.

Now, there's no way you could do the story.

Yeah.

So we flew to Italy because if we flew directly to England, they will know where the flight came from and then just send you back right away.

But if you stopped in Italy and then went through like a car or like, you know, see, I don't know, then it's harder to track you down.

I guess this is my theory later on to find out.

So, yeah, we were a European guy with like one of those military puffy jackets and jeans.

Came, picked us up and we were, yeah, we were transported in these, like a little golf, like a Volkswagen Golf, you know, the little one.

I think it was like a green color.

I don't remember, but I remember I was one of those.

And then, yeah, we were in this apartment, a basement apartment, and it seemed to be like a pit stop for a lot of people because you had two sofa bets and then you had when you went down the stairs, you had a toilet at the end.

There's a little TV on the left with the table, like a little really small TV.

And then you had you could make some coffee, tea, and it was very, very dirty.

And I remember the toilet when I went.

Then I've never seen anything like that.

I will.

I don't think I'll ever see anything like it again.

Not yeah, it was it was gross.

And I remember sitting on the couch because I didn't want to touch anything and I didn't want to drink anything because then I had to go to the bathroom.

And the only thing I remember is watching TV.

I think it was Winter Olympics or something.

It was ski jump and a thing was Austrian Germany killing.

And yeah, we were waiting for a day and a half and a certain point the guy came back and said, This is it.

We had two little sports back with us.

We followed him in the car.

He drove us to this parking area where trucks used to have a break.

And he said, When I say so, you guys run through that truck and climb behind it again.

We don't know what I don't know what's happening.

I'm just following orders.

And I felt my mom probably knew what was happening either.

I don't think she knew this was going to be the way.

But you are so desperate and you have no nothing else, I guess, you know, to just trust in these people.

And then then because what is the alternative?

There wasn't any.

So yeah, she grabbed my youngest sister and we took my me and my older sister.

How little your youngest At this point.

She is like two or less than two.

Yeah, she's very young.

Yeah.

And yeah, so we are falling off then.

My mom, she climbs up and behind the truck and it seems like they've made a little space.

You know, when you pass the.

It's like a car going.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

So what do you pass a car?

Go Like, if this is the driver and this is the cargo, this area, there's like a little space of mate.

And yeah, we were given like two bottles of water and then that's it.

You sit there and again, same directions or instructions don't say anything because if you get caught that's on you.

And we were sitting there for I don't know how long, I remember just that we were just around my mom and I know it was a horrible situation and it was dark and scary, but I was still content that we were still together and my mom was there.

I knew that my mom, as long as she's there, be will be fine.

So yeah.

And and then I don't know if after a certain point you lose what's the time or but you don't know where you are.

You just like, whatever.

And then the truck kind of stops, you know, you can feel the swings and he stops and we're told to get out.

And yeah, we were out.

And he drives off and.

And where are you?

I know.

Yes, I know.

Yeah.

I thought we were UK or in England and I was like I always run my love to be bigger and my you always hear stuff.

I knew about England, Germany, Norway, never heard anything about Denmark.

But at that point the only thing I could think of was that I was starving.

So like, I need some food and I'm like an hour, I guess.

Wandering around.

My mom finds a elderly man who's going on a walk with his dog and she asks him where we are and he explains to her that we were in Denmark and he.

Didn't even.

Know.

No, she was confused as well.

But I just again, at that point it didn't really matter.

We were together and seemed to be safer situation.

So we found a police station.

We went over to the police.

So it was at Easter morning, which is a holiday in Denmark and everything is like like that.

Everyone's sleeping in and it was 5 a.m. and there was only one police officer because this is a city and like northeast Denmark, we go, there's police officer.

My mom says she's she can political asylum goes in and does like an hour of interview where she explains who she is.

And we were just sitting on the chairs and waiting for him to come back and he comes back and looks at us and says, like Hungary.

I mean, this is I didn't speak English or anything else, but that's the international language for me.

And I was like, yes.

And he did one of the kindest things and any human being has ever done to me, like he took us to his police car, to a kiosk where he bought some banana and the toast.

And I think it was milk.

And for him, it's probably like 20 krona, which is now, well, $3 maximum, when at that point even less.

But I just thought it was like such a nice gesture and and he seen and seen other human beings I think had a huge impact on the person I am today and things that I want to do for others.

So, yeah, and after that we were set in a train and transported to, I guess like the first center that you arrive in.

It's like an immigration center slash a prison where legacy fences on guards, you can go out and in and all type of crazy people were there and we were there for, I guess a month or a bit more.

I don't remember until they go through all the check ups.

And then you are sent to a refugee camp where you have to wait if you're allowed to stay in the country or you're being deported back.

Long story short, Wow.

So you're in Denmark and that is the first time you discovered.

Football.

Or soccer, as we call it.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was that.

Yeah, it was fate.

Luckily for me, the refugee camp was next to these amazing football fields and we used to have a language school, I guess trying to learn Danish from 9 to 1.

And after that we were just free.

And for me as a kid, you go from being almost in a prison for almost more than two years where you are not allowed to go outside of the lot, to do anything to suddenly have a freedom where I can be, be whatever what I want to be and do whatever I want to do.

So me and my youngest sister, Diana, we used to just go and discover what was happening around us.

Where were we?

And very quickly we discovered the fields and the only thing dividing us and the fields were like a fence.

And some like, like wood or like small forests, I guess.

So we used to hang out behind these fence and click on kids played football.

Yeah.

And then that's the first time I saw girls playing football and.

Yeah.

What did you think then?

It was it was love at first sight.

And I don't know, it was like the spark.

You feel something and adrenaline rushing through me.

I always explain that Angel's cave.

Then I stopped playing the violin and the light hit me, you know, like, Oh, that little one.

And yeah, I knew that I want to be that person.

Seeing those girls playing so freely.

And they seemed happy.

And I wanted to be happy.

I wanted to be free, I guess.

Yeah.

That's love became to our obsession.

I was obsessed and getting better known how to do things.

We trained for, like trade, like I used to.

We play.

We used to just play around.

We had like a little dodge ball.

The pink one, and everyone would just playing against everyone.

And after I would say.

So we went from standing outside the fences to sometimes when they had shooting drills I used to run and then the boss hit over.

We used to bring them back the balls.

So with time we got more and more courage.

You get closer and one day I think this was like three months in or something.

I really want to be on the team.

So I went and I went and asked the coach and I said, Can I play?

And he said, Yes, I know is the reason I love this game is it's, you know, in sports, it doesn't matter who you are.

If you speak the language, how you look on the field, you are part of a family.

And I remember feeling like like I first it was a shock.

I didn't expect him to say yes.

And then, you know, you're certainly a part of training and you see what people are doing and you're trying to after a couple of months, one day he came will a little note, it said sit Saturday 12th here at 12 p.m. here at the club.

And I thought, wait, is this my first game?

And he's like, yeah, you're going to set to that.

You have a game.

And I remember rushing, running over to my mom and saying, I'm going to be playing my first game.

I need boots.

Well, because I didn't have any cleats or anything, you know, And my mom was, Oh my God, Really?

So we went to the I mean, we didn't have money or anything, so we went to the the secondhand store, like one of those charity second in stores where people will donate their clothes to try to if there's anything.

And lucky for me, there was this old 1938 Adidas shoes.

You know, when I I know I don't know if you've seen those, but these are heavy.

And when you see some of the pictures, it was like black and white that you like, Oh, this guy was going to save your head.

I was right.

And but I didn't really care because these are all my boots.

And so I took them and they're a bit, you know, very stiff.

And some I think one of the Iraqi guys who used to be there and our like the same we had like a kitchen for everyone.

He starts telling the story about how he used to be a football player.

And he said, I used to wear my shoes for him to feel like fit better.

So I was like, okay, so I want to show them almost love with him.

It didn't do anything because they had the grazes blistered by the pain, and I played my first game and then, you know, slowly from there, I'm here.

Yes, it was there.

It was not slowly.

I worked for it to get there to here.

So one of the things playing, playing professional soccer was not really an end goal for you, though.

How did you end up here then?

HM Yeah, I mean, I never knew.

I mean, I didn't even knew the women's game.

Like women's sports was something rather.

Yeah, I saw it first, but then I never thought there was like, Oh, people who lives of this?

I was like, Yeah, I used to play.

I still do because I love it.

It makes me happy.

I didn't really think of anything else.

But then in 2002, I guess I discovered that there was Denmark had a national team and the reason I discovered is is because they were in China for the World Cup.

And the Chinese national team somehow were trying to spy on their tactics.

And it became a scandal and it was on the news because of that and all because there were like the World Cup.

And I remember like seeing them like, wow, there's a national team.

Imagine if you play for the national team.

But again, I didn't thought of much.

But then I think when I was around 14, 15 years old, I was in the national teams, regional teams and one of the coaches who he was the on the team coach.

So something to explain when you're on the 19 national team player in Denmark, the best on the team.

National team players get to train with a full team sometimes because you know they're really good because there's no step between we don't have a 20 on the 21 to 23.

They're not really existent at that point.

So we were at this regional tournament and I do really, really well as goal of goals and we go to the final but we lose the final and I'm like it's an all star team top score but very disappointed because I'm like, Oh, we lost the final And he came, he comes to me and he whispered in my ear, He's like, He's seasoned Danish.

He's like, Your Constitution Magoo, spit up.

And first I'm confused what he said, because I'm like, What do you say?

But then I realize that he's like, You are a hell of a player.

So at that point I'm like, okay, the National team, national team coach knows who I am and I'm my name is popping up like in news Small and the odd newspaper clip first and then slowly my picture is there and again and again.

Again and again and again.

Then I'm like, Maybe I was good enough to be able to, like, play at a higher level.

And yeah, and when them when I was called off on the 17, but I couldn't play games because I then had the Danish passport yet so they had to like let me wait.

But I was still playing, you know, in the best teams in Denmark.

And then when I was when I got when I was 18, 19, I got my Danish passport and I got my first call to the to the first team.

And my first game was in Algarve.

In Portugal is a Algarve, a cup, a friendly tournament against us.

Yeah.

And I was super excited and super nervous, but I really had the chance to get nervous because I was on the bench and a striker at that time.

20 minutes in gets like a groin injury and they're like, Nadia, it's you.

And I'm like in.

And I think the first 40 seconds I was panicking about what was happening.

Then I'm like, It's just football, you know, at the end of the day.

And yeah, I remember playing against Christie Rumpole and Amy Wambach, Carli Lloyd Shattered Box, all these like legends.

These are names you knew by then.

Yeah, because you're starting out.

I'm like, Yeah, she's really good, right?

This lady is really good.

So and then later on, when I first signed my first overseas contract, it was sky blue in the US.

I was playing with Christian Rampton, who was the captain at the US national team, and I was playing my first game against.

Yeah.

So it would kind of quick.

Kind of a small world.

It is.

And then when did you come to Louisville?

I signed with Louisville in 2021 and of the like, I think end of the summer.

The reason I want to come back to us because I played that year in Sky Blue New Jersey and then I worked two years in Portland Thorns where we won the league.

And I want to go back to Europe because to family and, you know, play Champions League.

This league and it was salt is one of the toughest leagues and in the world just because it's so competitive and every team can beat any team on a on a given day.

So I want to be in great shape and I want to be challenge.

I love challenges.

I get bored.

What is the same thing and it's too easy because I wanted to push my boundaries and I want to push my comfort zone.

So when the team was created, published here in Louisville, I was asked if I want to be a part of a winning culture or build a winning culture winning team and kind of, I guess, introduce football to Louisville and Kentucky.

And I love the challenge.

I was like, Yeah, why not all love You?

So I was in P.G.

we won the league and I won or something.

You try something different and I came here and I've been loving it.

I think the city, as you know, the people, the fans have treated me very kindly.

I love the people because it's so different from everywhere else.

I'll lift my thing here.

People are really they come across very genuine and really nice.

And I the places I feel home is places where I feel like that kind of love or, you know, I don't know, it feels homely for me.

And yeah, I've been enjoying it.

Unfortunately, I got injured last year, but that's part of part of being an athlete, I guess.

But I'm almost there to do, you know, I do.

I come back and I'm super excited to be playing again.

What was your thought of Louisville or Kentucky in general before you came here?

Did you have any preconceived notions or what did you any expectations.

And I when I knew Kentucky right now was the only thing and I knew Muhammad Ali was from Louisville.

Okay.

That's that's a few things I knew.

Like about him, but otherwise not a lot.

I just knew that, you know, the people starting the team, they had these ambitions that will match mine like goals and ambitions that I thought was pretty cool.

And they said, you know, I know we are small city and we want to, but we want to build like, you know, a powerhouse and women's football.

And for me, again, I like that the fact that you are the underdog, but you're going to fight your way to the top.

And I was like, well, that kind of matches my mentality and my ambitions, what I want.

Because honestly, I for me, things that you have to fight for, they feel better than things are given to you easily.

I don't know.

It's just, I guess, mentality wise.

So I could easily choose.

Be a place where you don't have to fight this hard to achieve some of your goals.

But at the end of the day, the taste of that goal is not going to be the same.

If you've, like, fought for it, then struggle through it and then you still overcome it.

And then there's an amazing story and I have so many so much more to talk to you about.

So one of the things being here in Louisville, you are you know, your story is just littered with people who showed you kindness and helped you along the way.

And now you have really reached out to try to help people, particularly kids, refugees here in Louisville.

Tell us about that.

Yeah, I mean, as as you know, I mentioned we all a certain point, every human being is going to be in a spot where they struggle.

And then if you show kindness to people who's down, that's how I feel.

You define humanity.

If you see all the human being falling in front of you, your first instinct, hopefully it's going to be I want to help a person up again.

So this is how I see it in general.

So since I've been young, I've been trying to do a lot of volunteer work where I want to have impact.

I want to help people because I know how it feels to receive that help.

I'm also, you know, I'm also an ambassador for Yunus going to come to girls education.

And I've done a lot of trips in my vacations to Africa, Middle East.

So when I came here and I now figure out, you know, you have the a new camera academy where kids from around the world come in to stay in Kentucky, and then they have the chance to learn the language and kind of remind me of my you know, because in my camp, a lot of the other kids from them are used to come to learn Danish.

So something that could relate to.

And also I thought that would be a nice way to interact with them and tell them that, hey, I really know how you guys are feeling.

I know it's not easy to be, you know, starting from scratch, from zero.

Everything that, you know, has been taken away from you.

You almost lost your identity.

You have to rebuild this from from zero on.

You are so far away from like you're like, you know your friends on the same page or.

Yeah, exactly.

So but even though all of this is happening, you have to remember that's possible because I did it.

If I did it, you can do it too.

Yeah.

What an inspiration for them to see that how your story has ended up and for you to be able to inspire them, That's just phenomenal.

And one of the things I had asked you earlier was if you didn't play soccer, what would you do?

And by the.

Way, she's a doctor.

Tell me, Doctor, maybe.

I am Doctor Nadia So we went to med school to in your spare time, right?

Yeah.

My hobby.

Now it's because my mom.

My mom, bless her, she she was always very high on on education.

She told us that, you know, this is your weapon to get out of any situation that you have.

And then you understanding what's happening around you, is going to give you a voice.

So you need to have an education.

So when she was, you know, grown up, I think she was five years old, she forced her grandma to take her to school because she wasn't allowed her dad wouldn't allow her.

My grandpa, because girls weren't going to school.

So she had to beg my grandma to take her.

And then once she got in school, she had to hide from her dad that she was attending school until my grandpa found out that she actually was really good at it.

And then then she's like, okay, you can stay.

And so she made up the normal thing, and then she got all her siblings, six sisters.

So there are seven sisters.

Yeah.

And the family I know she, she made sure everyone went to school, so she herself wanted to become a doctor.

But like God, you know, came from a poor family, got married early.

And how kids.

So they really didn't have the chance opportunities.

And she always said to us, I really want someone to be a doctor in my family, like in our family, because I want my kids to have, you know, help people.

And you can again, do it in many ways, but this will be a great way.

But I had our dreams.

I wanted to be rich when I was younger.

All right.

I'm going to do first I thought I'm going to work in Wall Street.

And then I thought I'm going to be a lawyer because I'd seen a Tom Cruise movie.

I don't know the devil's advocate, as it were, but.

A Few Good Men.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I really like you could tell.

Her the.

Truth.

That's one of my favorite movies, right?

And I'd like.

Well, that could be me.

But then I internship in a law firm, and I was too boring, too many paperwork, so I was like, That's not me.

And in terms of business, when I was 19, I bought a kiosk and I thought, I'm going to have a chain of kiosk and then sell it and make a lot of money and then start investing Wall Street.

Here I come.

But I remember being in the summer, stuck in behind my kiosk, and this is not me because all my friends are hanging out playing football.

I'm bored here, so not me.

And in ninth grade we have this one week where you can see it and ship everywhere we go just for inspiration.

And I went to a hospital, private hospital, just because I was lazy and I could sleep in.

It was close to a house and I'm like, you know, I to have to take the bus to go like, wake up 5pmi can just sleep in medium, easy, easy internship.

Yeah, but I fell in love with the doctor there.

He he was a plastic surgeon and he was doing all kind of different things.

And the way people like, you know, I love the fact the interaction he had with his patients and how happy they were afterwards.

And I thought, you know what?

Being a doctor sounds pretty amazing.

So the day I had to apply for, you know, at the University, we get like this blanket and it says, So if you have high marks, you have more options and you have low marks, you have no options.

And med school is one of the hardest to get into.

Luckily for me, had this in my because my mom would kill me otherwise.

And yeah, I applied med school, got in.

Don't tell my family the first two weeks that I was in, I thought I said to them I, I was in business school and but yeah, once I told my mom she was over the moon and, and since my first semester of love that I love being in the hospital, it gives me like this joy and almost been an operation room.

Feels like when I score a goal like so me standing, you know assisting the operation because I haven't had the lead yet because the doctor, they wouldn't let me.

But you know, it's just an operation.

It feels you feel the same excitement, same emotions as when I score a goal.

And yeah, I love the fact that you can have an impact on people's lives.

And then and once I'm done with football, I'll love to be places like Doctors Without Borders, where you at the last person standing, where someone is, you know, really neat and you say no, say no, say no more.

I got you.

I love that.

I guess responsibility and the pressure of the situation and also, you know, the power that gives you to have an impact on other people who actually need it.

You you have had an impact on so many people.

And continue to you to tell me about what you're doing in your mom's legacy real quick.

Yeah, we unfortunately, my mom passed away last last year in a car accident or yeah, she got hit by a car.

And just to honor her memory, we started a fun and racing lady who helped me obviously with it, where we her.

Yeah, well, people can donate and then the money is going to go to single moms with kids where they're going to get an amount of money for anything they need.

Most of them probably a vehicle because transportation is hard.

And then the racing, Louisville and Louis said, are you going to help the kids, too, if they want to play football, to start playing at the academy for free, they can attend our games.

So love like, you know, little things that are going to help them and then hopefully make their lives a bit easier and hopefully inspire the kids to to do great things.

Well, you are such an inspiration.

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.

Of course.

We very much appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thanks for having.

Good luck to you.

Thank you.

Likewise.