“T here were times where I feared for my life as a kid, being harassed and chased by different groups of people,” Shola Ameobi says. “There were situations where I had to sprint to get away from groups of lads who didn’t like me because of what I looked like.”

Ameobi is recalling growing up in Newcastle during the late 1980s and 1990s, having moved from Nigeria aged six. There were, he says, “lots of moments” like that. “It was almost as if I had to hide myself to be able to do what I love to do. It wasn’t a very nice feeling, having to worry about getting from A to B. It was just part of my world. I had to be more aware of my surroundings and what I was doing.”

Ameobi’s “A” was often the family home, situated within a few pitch lengths of Newcastle’s St James’ Park, and “B” was frequently the club’s then Benwell base, where he would head for academy training.

“It built incredible resilience in me,” Ameobi says.…