Nico Williams Childhood Story (What you didn’t know)
Nico was born on the 12th of July 2002 to his mother, Maria Williams, and his father, Felix Williams, in Pamplona, Spain. He shares the same birthplace with Mikel Merino , Chelsea legend César Azpilicueta and Oihan Sancet .
The Spanish winger came into the world as the last child between two children (himself and an older brother) born from the happy marital union of Maria and Félix.
Nico is Iñaki’s younger brother, who has always protected him since childhood. To this day, the young man could not imagine life without his older brother, who showed him the way to achieve sporting success.
From the beginning, Inaki has always protected Nico. When their father was in London (for about ten years), he was Nico’s father.
How Nico Williams’ parents arrived in Spain
The story of the Nico Williams family began in the city of Accra, Ghana, in the 90s. At that time, his father and mother met and fell in love.
After getting married, Nico’s parents decided to seek a better future for their unborn children. Félix and Maria had the idea of leaving Ghana and traveling to Europe.
Nico Williams’ parents agreed that they would go to London, in the United Kingdom. However, this decision was rejected when a friend of Félix provided them with a cheaper opportunity. This family friend told them that with a few hundred dollars, a safe trip to Spain through the Sahara Desert
Félix and Maria were victims of the words above, as they both agreed to travel to Spain.
Saara’s desert
After initially traveling in a van, Maria and Félix were forced to get out of the vehicle when they had not yet reached their destination.
Nico Williams’ parents were abandoned almost in the middle of the Sahara desert, without food or drink. The situation got so serious that the two had to drink their own urine to satisfy the taste. For days, Felix and Maria had to walk through the hot dunes of the Sahara desert.
There were cases of fights and robberies among the abandoned people. In fact, it got to the point that Félix had to sacrifice his shoes for Maria, who had lost hers. Because of this, Nico’s father had to walk barefoot in the hot Sahara desert.
As they tried to survive in the hot Sahara desert, some of the people who died with them had to be buried. At that time, Maria and Felix regretted their decision to leave Ghana.
After a long and painful journey, Félix and Maria finally arrived in Melilla, a Spanish city located in North Africa. Reaching the city border didn’t mean the end of Nico Williams’ parents’ problems. They had to enter the city illegally, which meant they had to jump the barbed wire fence, like other migrants do.
Arrested by the Spanish Civil Guard.
Félix and Maria jumped the barbed wire fence that marked the border between Manila and Morocco, after jumping the barbed wire fence, Nico Williams’ parents were arrested by the Spanish Civil Guard.
Not only were Nico Williams’ parents arrested, but the Spanish government initiated proceedings to deport them for being undocumented immigrants.
Days before being tried and deported, Félix and Maria received an unexpected visitor, a lawyer from Caritas. This lawyer, a God sent, gave them a solution
On the day of the hearing, Félix and Maria found a way to tear up the papers that showed they were from Ghana.
They then told the Judge in charge of their case that they were originally from war-torn Liberia and were victims of the Civil War. Thanks to this, the couple was finally allowed to enter Spain as political asylum seekers.
Settling in Spain Spain
To settle in Spain, Nico Williams’ parents had help from a non-governmental organization inspired by the Catholic faith
The missionary, led by Father Iñaki Mardones, went to pick up Nico’s parents at the train station. That time was at the end of April 1994, two months before the birth of Iñaki Williams Arthuer (Nico’s older brother).
Father Iñaki Mardones gave them an apartment at Caritas. Since Maria Williams did not have a health card, medical staff would be paid to help monitor her seven-month pregnancy.
Shortly afterwards, on June 15, 1994, Maria and Félix welcomed their first child into the world. To show how grateful Maria and Félix are to their helper (Father Iñaki Mardones), they decided to name their son Iñaki.
Nico Williams’ first contact with football ( Osasuna )
Nico started his football with the local Pamplona team before joining Osasuna in 2012. That summer of 2012, Osasuna organized a new youth structure of talented boys. Eleven players and one goalkeeper were selected. Nico Williams was the only black among these young football players.
 |
| Nico Williams’ first contact with football |
In the past, there were two of Osasuna’s most talented youngsters whose names always appeared in the newspapers. Interestingly, both were homonyms – Nicolás Serrano Galdeano (born 2003) and Nicholas Williams Arthuer (Inaki’s brother). The two boys were not just nicknames, but also best friends who excelled in the same wing position.
Young Nico only managed to defend Osasuna’s youngsters for just one season. During this period and to this day, fans have always been amazed by his physical strength and scoring ability. In fact, Osasuna feared it would be impossible to keep their brightest talent. So they prepared for the worst, that is, losing him to a better gym.
From the moment Nico Williams won the award for best goal in the competition above, Athletic Bilbao made their intentions clear. The club wanted Nico to join his older brother, Inaki, who had just joined Bilbao’s first team after scoring 35 goals the previous season.
Nico Williams at Bilbao Athletic
Bilbao Athletic wanted the son, but the club had difficulty reuniting his mother and father. Nico’s father, Felix, and his mother, Maria, were separated at that time. While Felix was working in London, his wife Maria stayed in Spain. She looked after Nico and had three part-time jobs in Pamplona.
As the club wanted the boy (Nico) at all costs, Bilbao Athletic decided to offer the Williams family a new home close to the club. With that house (including Inaki’s success with Bilbao), Nico’s family’s fortunes began to see great signs of improvement, especially in their standard of living.
Williams was on the field in four of the opening five matches of the 2022–23 La Liga campaign, being named player of the match in the 4–1 victory over Elche CF on 11 September 2022. In that match he suffered a penalty (converted by Oihan Sancet ) and scored one of his team’s goals after a beautiful shot, which was his first goal of the season. Coincidentally, it was against this same opponent and stadium that his brother scored his first goal for the team seven years earlier. He also scored the following week, scoring the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano .
On 11 May 2020, Williams was promoted to the Second Division B reserve team. He made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 28 April the following year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jon Morcillo in the equalizer at home 2-2 against Real Valladolid ; his brother Iñaki also came off the bench ten minutes later. It was the first time that two brothers were on the field at the same time for the club since Julio and Patxi Salinas in 1986 .
Williams scored his first two goals for the Lions on 6 January 2022, in a 2–0 victory over Atlético Mancha Real in the campaign ‘s Copa del Rey . Seven days later, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the semi-final of the 2021–22 Supercopa de España . On 20 January 2022, Williams was given a first-team contract after fulfilling a number of clauses.
Williams started four of the first five matches of the 2022–23 La Liga campaign and was named man of the match in the 4–1 away win against Elche CF on 11 September 2022. In the first half hour In the match, he pressured the opponent into conceding an own goal, won a traveling penalty (converted by Oihan Sancet ) and then scored with a dribble from the right and a powerful shot for his first goal in the competition. Coincidentally, this was the same venue and opponent where his brother scored for the first time in the league seven years earlier. He scored again the following week, the decisive goal in a 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano and his first in San Mamés
 |
| Nico Williams with his brother |
Athletic have made a strong start to the 2023-24 La Liga season, with Williams providing countless scoring chances, particularly on the left wing, while coach Ernesto Valverde has established himself on the front line with Iñaki on the opposite flank and Gorka Guruzeta in the center. With his contract expiring in 2024 and media speculation linking him with clubs such as Aston Villa , Barcelona , Liverpool and Real Madrid , Williams’ representatives negotiated with the club for several months before a new contract until 2027 was agreed in December 1, 2023.
Nico Williams Family
 |
| Nico Williams Family |
As a Spanish citizen of sub-Saharan African descent, Winger automatically belongs to the ethnic group known as Afro-Spanish. In addition to Nico, there are other Spanish football players who identify with this ethnicity. Popular among them are Ansu Fati, Adama Traore and Ilaix Moriba .
Nico Williams Mother
 |
| Nico Williams Mother |
Before marrying Felix, she used that name; Maria Conforto Arthur. The surname (Arthuer) is Nico’s maternal surname. Nico Williams’ mother always wanted to see her two children playing together. Seeing them do it in 2021 was a huge dream come true for the mother of two.
To this day, Nico Williams’ mother tends to get emotional whenever she sees the desert dunes. Unfortunately, a recent visit to the Dubai desert reminded her of the past.
On a visit to the dunes, Maria suddenly started crying as she remembered that terrible experience of traveling through the Sahara desert a few years ago.
Nico Williams father
 |
| Nico Williams father |
Mr. Félix, upon emigrating to Spain, first worked as a shepherd. Out of inspiration to make money, Nico’s father did any job that people rejected. Soon, Felix Williams became a cleaner at a construction site. After several menial jobs, the father of two decided he would travel alone, without his family in London.
Nico and Inaki’s football careers prevented Felix from taking his entire family to London. While living in the English capital, he first worked in a shopping center. He later got a part-time job at Chelsea Football Club as a cleaner and cashier at Stanford Bridge.
For many years, Inaki and Nico never knew the origin of their father’s foot injury. An injury occurred as a result of Felix walking barefoot through the Sahara dunes in temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees. Thanks to the improvement in his children’s family background, Félix returned to live with his family in the capital of Navarre. The proud father finds time to watch his son’s games.
Nico Williams Brother
 |
| Nico Williams Brother |
Iñaki Williams Arthuer is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Ghana national team .
Developed in Athletic Bilbao’s academy , he made over 400 appearances for the club, including a La Liga record 251 consecutive appearances. He scored the winning goal of the 2020–21 Supercopa de España , and also won the 2023–24 Copa del Rey .
