Iñaki Williams’ message to brother Nico after Spain’s second World Cup | OneFootball

Iñaki Williams sent a heartfelt message to his younger brother Nico after Spain secured their second World Cup. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, the Athletic Club captain said the triumph had made millions of immigrants like their parents feel proud and helped Spaniards connect with their story.

Iñaki, born in Bilbao in 1994, and Nico, born in Pamplona in 2002, are the sons of Ghanaian migrants Félix Williams and María Comfort. Their mother, pregnant with Iñaki, crossed the Sahara on foot in 1994. They had aimed for the United Kingdom before a family friend urged Spain as cheaper.

On reaching Melilla they were detained by the Guardia Civil after scaling the fence. Jailed as undocumented arrivals under a deportation order, they received help from a Caritas lawyer. In April 1994, two months before Iñaki’s birth, the family arrived in Bilbao by chance.

The family later settled in Navarra, first in Sesma, where the father worked as a farmer, then in Pamplona. They stayed until 2012, when Iñaki joined Athletic Club, while their father moved to London in 2006 to find work.

Last season was difficult for Nico, with recurring fitness issues at Athletic Club even putting his World Cup place under Luis de la Fuente at risk. In his message, Iñaki said Nico had touched the sky, proved that with work anything is possible, and ended by expressing admiration, love and calling him a world champion.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo