Bangladesh midfielder Hamza Choudhury has raised more than £100,000, roughly 1 Crore and 65 Lakhs taka, for children in Gaza through a charity event run with Nujum Sports.
Announcing the total on social media, he wrote: “Alhamdullilah, we managed to raise over £100,000 for the children of Gaza.”
The Sheffield United player, of Bangladeshi heritage, thanked attendees and donors, then singled out the organisers. Nujum Sports, a UK-based non-profit founded in 2020 to support Muslim athletes, put in “all the hours and tireless work” to make his “vision a reality”, he said.
The event took place at Tower Hamlets Town Hall on Sunday, opening with a discussion featuring Hamza before an auction of signed shirts, medals and memorabilia from Muslim athletes. Ticket sales and auction proceeds were both donated in full.
His FA Cup-winning shirt from Leicester City sold for £7,000, while his Community Shield winner’s medal fetched £3,000.
Every pound goes to Children Not Numbers, which Hamza said is “on the ground providing vital support to the children of Gaza”.
The money will pay for evacuating seriously ill children to other locations for treatment. “For many of these children, medical evacuation is their only hope of survival,” he wrote, adding that all funds will go to those who “desperately need it”.
Hamza said he was “humbled and grateful” for the result but kept perspective.
“I know it is only a small contribution in the face of so much suffering,” he wrote, stressing that “every effort, no matter how small, can make a difference”.
Hamza ended his post with a prayer for the people of Palestine: “May God accept our efforts, ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, grant them strength and patience, and bring them lasting peace.”
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began on October 7, 2023. The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures reliable.
Club commitments will keep Hamza out of Bangladesh’s SAFF Championship opener against Bhutan on November 5. Coach Thomas Dooley expects him to join from November 9 and hopes to have him available for the group match against Sri Lanka on November 11.