Biography: Nia Bayunu

Background Nia was born in London, but raised in the residential suburb of Moss Side in Manchester. Coming from a single parent family, Nia is a cheeky, lively lad and currently lives with just his Mum. He doesn’t think it was too hard growing up in Moss Side but he’s definitely street aware now. Nia likes to use football as an escape from the stresses of the world. Football Especially good at reading the game, Nia also has excellent ‘air skills’ and has a good jump. He likes playing a simple game and doesn’t believe in holding up play with skills and tricks. He states; “Keep it simple and you’ll win the game”. Describing himself as very competitive, Nia loves being the captain. He is very mouthy on the pitch and a natural leader of his friends. Clive Dunn, a teacher from his primary school, was the first person to pick up on Nia’s ability and he encouraged him to play more. At six years old Nia began training with Clive - who still trains him to this day. Nia has played for Fletcher Moss in Charlton, (famous for producing Wes Brown). He then played for West Manchester and FC United under 18’s. He also played with Woodley in the Unibond league. Currently Nia isn’t training with a team but last year he had trials for Blackburn Rovers. It was good experience for him but he didn’t get picked up even though they told him not to sign for anyone else. Nia is a Manchester United fan. Most Wanted Most Wanted is very important to Nia and he’s been treating the event very seriously and constantly training. He’s looked at the skill tests on line, he thinks he’ll be good at control and the long ball, however he needs to work on his agility disciplines. He’s hoping to have a good experience at the trials and is looking forward to the opportunity to assess his competition. He really wants to be better than the other people there. Currently, as well as his usual training, he has taken up kickboxing to increase his strength. Homelife He described his family as the most important thing in his life, but he said football is a close second. If he made it big, he would like to look after his family with his money from the football. Nia can often be found street dancing in Manchester. It’s a very spontaneous event for him and his mates though. He has a girlfriend, but they’ve only been going out for two months so she hasn’t seen him play yet. Education Football has never distracted Nia from his education; he’s just finished studying business and PE and sports management. He is the captain of his college team.