Many could be forgiven for wanting a day off after a blistering 90 minutes under the heatwave that hit England at the weekend.

Nigeria international Iwobi came to Belfast to link up with the Ethnic Minority Sports Organisation Northern Ireland group (EMSONI), through his own charity Project 17.

EMSONI is community-driven multi-sports organisation for the development of ethnic minority sports in Northern Ireland, with the aim of diversifying the face of sports and integrating ethic minority and local communities together.

Founder Adekanmi Abayomi, an asylum seeker from Nigeria who won BBC Sport NI’s 2020 Unsung Hero Award, founded the Northern Ireland Confederations Cup – a football tournament bringing together teams from various ethnic groups and communities across the country.

It was hardly a relaxing day off from duty, with several stops and meetings with fans, volunteers and Belfast’s Lord Mayor, yet Iwobi said he had a “great time” during his short stay in Belfast.

“It takes me back to my childhood days. I was playing with different cultures, different backgrounds when I was playing all over London and Essex,” Iwobi said at Midgley Park for the NI Confederations Cup semi-final between Nigeria and Ghana.

“I want everyone to have the same opportunity, or even more, than I did as a kid. In football you are able to experience a lot of life situations and it brings everyone together.

“I’m here to support and give back to the community. I am always here to try and show up and support as much as I can.”

It was a short, yet filled day in Belfast for Iwobi. The first stop was to the offices of ESMONI for a press conference before the entourage moved on to Belfast City Hall to discuss the project with the Lord Mayor, Tina Black, and IFA president Conrad Kirkwood.

The 26-year-old was taking everything in, from the people and photo opportunities to the architecture in the City Hall at the very heart of Belfast, with a big smile on his face every step of the way.

From there followed a trip to Ulidia Playing Fields, where the final of the NI Confederations Cup will take place, before his final stop at Midgley Park, in the shadow of Windsor Park – home of Northern Ireland and Irish Premiership champions Linfield – to watch the NI Confederations Cup semi-final before jetting back to Merseyside for training on Monday morning.

Iwobi, who was born in Nigeria’s capital Lagos before moving to England, added that when he heard about EMSONI’s work across Northern Ireland he felt compelled to try and support their cause.

“When this opportunity came around there was no doubt we wanted to tap into it,” he added.

“To see what they done in the past, I want it to grow and elevate. To come here and see it for myself and witness it is crazy.

“They [EMSONI] had 15 communities involved and now they’ve got 20 this year. I was even meeting with the mayor of Belfast so to have opportunities like that is amazing.

“With football there is an opportunity for everyone. I’m the same as everyone else, I’m human at the end of the day.

“Growing up as a kid I only really had support from Arsenal and my family. I’m grateful for what I had, but things like EMSONI weren’t around in my area and can only help people in the future.”

Iwobi ‘a success story’

Abayomi said he and his team had been working for nine months to bring Iwobi to Belfast, and the stars aligned when the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup lined up with a day off for the Everton midfielder.

“We are so happy with the passion from him,” he said.

“It’s amazing to see a promising young guy who has done well for himself use his platform to inspire young people and bring communities together.

“Alex brings a lot to this project and a lot to Northern Ireland. He has done well for himself and he is a success story. We can use it as a good model to show what people can do for themselves.”

Abayomi added it “speaks a lot” that Iwobi was willing to travel to Belfast in between Everton’s game at Villa Park on Saturday and before he was back in training with Frank Lampard on Monday morning.

“It’s unbelievable. You can see it is organic and natural for him,” he added.

“It shows he is genuinely interested in giving back to society. I would implore other internationals of his status to emulate something like that.

“That is what they need, these guys need somebody to identify with. Alex is doing that and is proud of that.

“I’m proud of EMSONI and the volunteers as they made it happen. I’m still struggling that this is a reality, I’m glad he is in Belfast for the first time and he is loving the atmosphere. We can’t thank him enough.”