‘Captain Abdul’ spreads love of soccer

If chatting with Abdullahi Mohamed doesn’t get you excited about the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup, you probably won’t get a kick out of the beautiful game.

Known to many by his stage name “Captain Abdul,” the parttime DJ, soccer coach, tournament organizer, taxi driver and avid soccer fan is on a mission to get as many people as possible excited about the tournament.

Wearing a bright yellow twopiece suit and carrying a World Cup trophy, Mohamed spent Tuesday visiting close to two dozen businesses in Edmonton to offer up metres and metres of national flag-emblazoned bunting and sharing his love of the sport.

“(Soccer) is the most beautiful sport on the Earth, nobody can match it, nobody can beat it. It’s huge,” he said.

For a man who has grown up playing and coaching the sport, Mohamed’s voluntary journey around the city is as much about speaking about soccer as it is about bringing communities together.

“This is all about doing good things for the community.”

As for who will win this year, well that’s simple.

“Brazil,” he said with a smile. “They work so hard, they have built a team that is No. 1 in South America and they have done their homework.”

Host nation Russia kicks off the tournament Thursday morning when it takes on Saudi Arabia in Moscow at 9 a.m.