Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams has expressed deep gratitude to his parents for their sacrifices in seeking a better future for their family. Nico’s parents, Felix and Maria, made a perilous journey from Ghana in hopes of a new life, traveling through the Sahara Desert and enduring numerous hardships along the way.
The couple’s original plan was to reach the United Kingdom, but their journey was derailed when a gang stole their savings. Stranded halfway through their trip, they were eventually detained in the Spanish enclave of Melilla in northern Africa. To secure political asylum, a lawyer advised them to claim they were from war-torn Liberia rather than Ghana.
Reflecting on their sacrifices, Nico, who also plays for the Spanish national team, expressed his appreciation in an interview with the BBC. “Thanks to God we are all here together now, living a really good life. My parents are getting to watch their sons prosper, which is why they came here. Everything we do is for our parents,” he said.
He continued, “They risked their lives so that we, my brother and I, have a better future. And they achieved that. I will forever appreciate what my father and my mother did for us—they are fighters, they instilled in us respect, hard work, every day, that nobody gifts you anything.”
Nico also shared his pride in his parents, saying, “The truth is I am so proud to be able to have them as parents, and I try to do everything possible so that they feel proud to have me as a son.”
Nico’s older brother, Inaki Williams, chose to represent Ghana at the international level.
