By Harrison Miller
On August 2, 1990 the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. What had been years of strained relations between the two countries transformed into a military takeover. The results – over four thousand Kuwaiti casualties, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime in power and the start of the Gulf War. Thousands of Kuwaiti people fled the conflict in search of safety. One of the families in particular was that of the Carolina RailHawks’ very own Nazmi Albadawi.
“My family is Palestinian, but we lived overseas in Kuwait before I was born,” said Albadawi. “They flew over here when Saddam Hussein and Iraq invaded Kuwait. They had to leave all of their family and everything behind. My parents had the opportunity to get out of there, and they took it.”
The Albadawis didn’t make the journey alone. They traveled with a group of fellow Kuwaiti families seeking safety in the United States. This became a community and support group that Albadawi is still close with today.
“There were a bunch of families that flew over together, and a lot of those guys are still some of my best friends,” said Albadawi. “so it’s pretty cool; it’s a big family environment.”
Once in Cary, the Albadawi’s began the start of their new life. Nazmi’s parents found jobs quickly and were able to provide for the family. Albadawi says he faced a language barrier that he had to overcome.
“Growing up, Arabic was my first language,” said Albadawi. “It’s all I spoke at home until I met American people and started going to school. That’s when I started speaking English.”
Despite this challenge, Nazmi says his childhood was pretty ordinary.
“It wasn’t that much of an immigrant experience for me, I was just a normal little kid growing up,” he said. “I lived in Trinity Apartments, which is five minutes away from the stadium at most, which was exciting,” continued Albadawi.
Albadawi says it was his family and the community he grew up in that sparked his passion for soccer.
“My sisters and their friends would play soccer in the neighborhood all the time,” said Nazmi. “My best friend and I would never want to play with them, we would always want to play tag. One time both of us ended up playing and we fell in love with it.”
From there, Albadawi knew he wanted to play professional soccer. He attended RailHawks games with his father and friends and began playing in the Capital Area Soccer League and Triangle United Soccer Association youth systems. Albadawi attended Athens Drive High School, playing varsity for all four years before going on to play for Wake Technical Community College and walking on to the team at North Carolina State University.
“I’m very fortunate,” said Albadawi. “I wasn’t recruited highly out of high school, but I was able to eventually walk on to NC State. When I earned my spot, I realized I could play at that level. I was named team captain there and continued to work as hard as I could. I played with the U23s NPSL and did well, I had a feeling I would be able to sign with the RailHawks after playing with the youth team and thankfully they offered me a contract, and I accepted.”
Albadawi signed his first professional contract with the RailHawks in 2014. Since then, Albadawi has been proud to represent his hometown club. This season, his childhood dream further came to fruition, as he was named captain of the team.
“Colin and Dewan gave me my chance. They trusted me, and I earned my starting spot my rookie year. After that, it was all the motivation I needed, I just continued to work harder and harder,” said Albadawi. “They gave me the captain armband this year, which really means a lot to me.”
Outside of his duties as captain of the RailHawks, Albadawi is a major proponent for community service. He regularly gives back to his hometown as both a professional soccer player and an active part of the Triangle’s Muslim community.
“My culture still is a big influence on my life,” said Albadawi. “We have a very big Muslim community here in the area, and I try to be involved as much as I can. A lot of my friends that I grew up with in the area are still here, so it’s still a very big aspect of my life.”
Last year Albadawi and the Triangle Soccer Fanatics came together to support three members of the Muslim community that were tragically killed in Chapel Hill. The victims; Deah Brakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha; were good friends of Albadawi’s.
“I feel honored and blessed to have held such a close friendship with a three victims,” said Nazmi in a personal note on TSF's website. “From the bottom of my heart, I can say that they were the three most genuine, kind and innocent people I have ever met in my life.”
“It really shows just how good of people they were, how much attention it got around the world, not only in the country,” said Albadawi. “They were perfect examples of what it is to be a good Muslim. They were three people that really showed what our religion is about, and that’s why it affected the world so deeply.”
Albadawi and TSF were able to raise nearly $3,000 for Syrian Dental Relief, a program founded by Barakat before his passing, which provides dental care and education to those affected by the Syrian Civil War.
Albadawi loves finding other ways he can give back. He is especially involved in developing youth soccer as a coach and mentor.
“I love coaching kids and working with them, seeing them feel like they’re getting better, and seeing that look on their face when they do something correctly gives me a lot of joy as well. It’s something I’m really passionate about,” said Albadawi.
Nazmi hopes to inspire others and help soccer continue to grow in the Triangle.
“It’s my hometown, so it means a lot to me,” said Albadawi. “I’m a big advocate of giving back to the community because it’s been so loving to me. I want to give back as much as I can, especially with kids. I try to sign every autograph and make sure I don’t miss anyone because I was there too. Who am I to say no when I was in their spot 10 years ago?”
When Albadawi reflects on his family’s story and his childhood experience, he can’t help but feel a sense of pride.
“I’m very proud of where I’m from,” said Albadawi. “It helped shape me into the person I am today.”
By Harrison Miller
On August 2, 1990 the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. What had been years of strained relations between the two countries transformed into a military takeover. The results – over four thousand Kuwaiti casualties, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime in power and the start of the Gulf War. Thousands of Kuwaiti people fled the conflict in search of safety. One of the families in particular was that of the Carolina RailHawks’ very own Nazmi Albadawi.
“My family is Palestinian, but we lived overseas in Kuwait before I was born,” said Albadawi. “They flew over here when Saddam Hussein and Iraq invaded Kuwait. They had to leave all of their family and everything behind. My parents had the opportunity to get out of there, and they took it.”
The Albadawis didn’t make the journey alone. They traveled with a group of fellow Kuwaiti families seeking safety in the United States. This became a community and support group that Albadawi is still close with today.
“There were a bunch of families that flew over together, and a lot of those guys are still some of my best friends,” said Albadawi. “so it’s pretty cool; it’s a big family environment.”
Once in Cary, the Albadawi’s began the start of their new life. Nazmi’s parents found jobs quickly and were able to provide for the family. Albadawi says he faced a language barrier that he had to overcome.
“Growing up, Arabic was my first language,” said Albadawi. “It’s all I spoke at home until I met American people and started going to school. That’s when I started speaking English.”
Despite this challenge, Nazmi says his childhood was pretty ordinary.
“It wasn’t that much of an immigrant experience for me, I was just a normal little kid growing up,” he said. “I lived in Trinity Apartments, which is five minutes away from the stadium at most, which was exciting,” continued Albadawi.
Albadawi says it was his family and the community he grew up in that sparked his passion for soccer.
“My sisters and their friends would play soccer in the neighborhood all the time,” said Nazmi. “My best friend and I would never want to play with them, we would always want to play tag. One time both of us ended up playing and we fell in love with it.”
From there, Albadawi knew he wanted to play professional soccer. He attended RailHawks games with his father and friends and began playing in the Capital Area Soccer League and Triangle United Soccer Association youth systems. Albadawi attended Athens Drive High School, playing varsity for all four years before going on to play for Wake Technical Community College and walking on to the team at North Carolina State University.
“I’m very fortunate,” said Albadawi. “I wasn’t recruited highly out of high school, but I was able to eventually walk on to NC State. When I earned my spot, I realized I could play at that level. I was named team captain there and continued to work as hard as I could. I played with the U23s NPSL and did well, I had a feeling I would be able to sign with the RailHawks after playing with the youth team and thankfully they offered me a contract, and I accepted.”
Albadawi signed his first professional contract with the RailHawks in 2014. Since then, Albadawi has been proud to represent his hometown club. This season, his childhood dream further came to fruition, as he was named captain of the team.
“Colin and Dewan gave me my chance. They trusted me, and I earned my starting spot my rookie year. After that, it was all the motivation I needed, I just continued to work harder and harder,” said Albadawi. “They gave me the captain armband this year, which really means a lot to me.”
Outside of his duties as captain of the RailHawks, Albadawi is a major proponent for community service. He regularly gives back to his hometown as both a professional soccer player and an active part of the Triangle’s Muslim community.
“My culture still is a big influence on my life,” said Albadawi. “We have a very big Muslim community here in the area, and I try to be involved as much as I can. A lot of my friends that I grew up with in the area are still here, so it’s still a very big aspect of my life.”
Last year Albadawi and the Triangle Soccer Fanatics came together to support three members of the Muslim community that were tragically killed in Chapel Hill. The victims; Deah Brakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha; were good friends of Albadawi’s.
“I feel honored and blessed to have held such a close friendship with a three victims,” said Nazmi in a personal note on TSF’s website. “From the bottom of my heart, I can say that they were the three most genuine, kind and innocent people I have ever met in my life.”
“It really shows just how good of people they were, how much attention it got around the world, not only in the country,” said Albadawi. “They were perfect examples of what it is to be a good Muslim. They were three people that really showed what our religion is about, and that’s why it affected the world so deeply.”
Albadawi and TSF were able to raise nearly $3,000 for Syrian Dental Relief, a program founded by Barakat before his passing, which provides dental care and education to those affected by the Syrian Civil War.
Albadawi loves finding other ways he can give back. He is especially involved in developing youth soccer as a coach and mentor.
“I love coaching kids and working with them, seeing them feel like they’re getting better, and seeing that look on their face when they do something correctly gives me a lot of joy as well. It’s something I’m really passionate about,” said Albadawi.
Nazmi hopes to inspire others and help soccer continue to grow in the Triangle.
“It’s my hometown, so it means a lot to me,” said Albadawi. “I’m a big advocate of giving back to the community because it’s been so loving to me. I want to give back as much as I can, especially with kids. I try to sign every autograph and make sure I don’t miss anyone because I was there too. Who am I to say no when I was in their spot 10 years ago?”
When Albadawi reflects on his family’s story and his childhood experience, he can’t help but feel a sense of pride.
“I’m very proud of where I’m from,” said Albadawi. “It helped shape me into the person I am today.”
