Teenage Footballer Murdered In 2006 To Be Added To 'FIFA 21'
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Featured Image Credit: Kiyan Prince Foundation / EA
Kiyan Prince, a talented teenage footballer, died in 2006 after being stabbed outside of his school as he tried to break up a fight. He was just 15 years old. The teenager was part of the Queens Park Rangers academy and it was thought that he would have gone on to play at the top level of football if he hadn't been murdered.
To honour him, his legacy, and to bring awareness to the devastating effects of knife crime, Kiyan Prince is being added to FIFA 21. Using an assortment of technology to predict what he would have looked like, an older Kiyan is now the face of a campaign to celebrate him and show people "the man Kiyan was destined to become".
According to Reuters, special effects studio Framestore, friends and family, along with researchers from the University of Bradford developed this 30-year-old version of Kiyan Prince for the game. His father, who you can see in the very emotional video below, "broke down" when he saw it. Dr Mark Prince says that "Through this campaign, my hope is that the world finally gets to glimpse Kiyan's incredible potential fulfilled. We get to honour his talent and, hopefully, we can inspire other kids to honour their own talent too."
15 years ago today, Kiyan Prince lost his life.
Today, we honour his legacy and the player he was destined to become.
Introducing @QPR's new number 30 @TheKPF @EFL #LONGLIVETHEPRINCE pic.twitter.com/tlVHu7JDt0
- EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) May 18, 2021
Dr. Prince, who is Kiyan's father, was previously an IBF and WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight boxing champion and received an OBE in 2019 for his campaign to tackle knife crime after his son's death. The Kiyan Prince Foundation now supports young people through mentoring, life skills, and training programmes.
Kiyan's face won't just be a player in FIFA 21, however, his likeness will also be part of an advertising campaign for JD Sports, a collectable card in Match Attax, and on the team sheet at Queen's Park Rangers. All the places you'd have seen the teenager had he gone on to become a celebrated footballer.
If you want to help young people who would be supported by the Kiyan Prince Foundation, you can text KPF £5 (or another amount of money) to 70490 to donate to the cause.
