Charlton players Diallang Jaiyesimi and Wassim Aouachria have been given special gift packages ahead of the start of the month of Ramadan.
The packages have been gifted by Nujum Sports, which was founded in 2020 and focuses on supporting Muslim athletes on their personal journey through their sport.
Aouachria said: “This is my first Ramadan far from family and I think those little things in the care package will help me this Ramadan.
“Ramadan is literally more than just not having food and not having water, that’s enough to get to closer to God first thing because your family needs to ask for redemption, forgiveness and to come back to simple things. We need to remember that with no food and no water, we’re nothing. It helps you to work on your humility and all of those little values are everything that come from Ramadan. I’m buzzing for it to be fair, I cannot wait.”
The pack, gifted to 209 footballers, contains a Ramadan guide, Palestinian medjool dates, gourmet honey from the Latin Honey Shop, a bespoke fragrance from Sunnah Musk and ZamZam holy water from Saudi Arabia.
Nujum Sports’ Ebadur Rahman explained: “It’s very important, especially for footballers because of lockdown and COVID restrictions. A lot of them will be away from their family, extended family and they won’t be able to break fast with them. I know Wassim is from France so he hasn’t got his family here so it’s going to be a very difficult time for him, especially when a lot of people around him will probably be breaking their fast with their families and he’s going to be by himself. Just having that support from Nujum Sports and us as well, and even the club, will be amazing for people like him.”
Anwar Uddin of Fans For Diversity said: “I played for 17 years, and I’ve played with a lot of Muslim players and a lot of players who are non-Muslim and to share that understanding of Ramadan and what Ramadan is I think is really important. You could have colleagues at work, teammates at football who are fasting and you don’t know what it’s about or what it entails. I think the packs and what Nujum Sports are doing is really good just to increase awareness and understanding of what Ramadan is and how it affects people all over the country.”
Charlton Athletic recently launched the club’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Consultation Framework and the club’s Head of EDI, Dr Michael Seeraj added: “We do a lot of work around equality and inclusion, and with the increasing diversity of players from different backgrounds, we really want to raise awareness and understanding of different faiths. Ramadan is a time for contemplation, self-sacrifice and charity – highlighting the qualities of compassion, empathy and supporting others. They are real key dimensions of the EDI work we strive our best to do here at Charlton.”