Illustration, Art Direction, Layout Design for EA FIFA, creating a comic book aiming to inspire the next generation.
The book, titled Hamza: My Story, documents his upbringing as a British Asian and his journey to making it as professional footballer in the Premier League.
From exploring how his family helped him pursue his dream to how his heritage shaped who he is today as a player and as a person, and how he first combated racism on the pitch, the comic is a celebration of Hamza’s status as a role model for us all.
It will be distributed to Premier League Primary Stars and Show Racism the Red Card linked schools to help inspire the next generation to follow their dreams.
Writing in the foreword of the book, Hamza said: “Being yourself is important in life and football. It was a lesson taught to me growing up: to love who you are and what you do. Without embracing my heritage, my skin and even my hair, I would not be the person or the footballer I am today. This is my story so far”.
The comic is part of the wider ‘Inspire The Next Generation’ EA SPORTS campaign, which aims to start fixing the cycle that has been holding back British Asian football talent for generations.
Research released in 2020 found that of the UK’s 4,000 professional footballers, just 10 were British Asian.
