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ROYAL DUTY FOR ANTHONY

NASSA’s very own Anthony Okereafor stood proud and tall as a Batonbearer in the Queen’s Baton Relay over Jubilee weekend.

In recognition of his work fighting knife crime and the impact it has made on the lives of young people across east London for the past 14 years, Anthony was invited to carry the Baton on one of the most prestigious legs of its journey around the UK.

The Queen’s Baton Relay is helping to celebrate the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Anthony carried it across the Thames on Saturday, June 4 aboard a Metropolitan Police boat.

Picking up the Baton at London Eye before boarding the Police boat, he was joined by members of the Metropolitan Police, passing in front of the Houses of Parliament and travelling across the Thames to Blackfriars Pier.

Anthony said: “It was a huge honour to carry the Queen’s Baton and very humbling, too. I felt I was holding it aloft for all those young people who have lost their lives as a result of knife crime in the past 14 years since we founded CABNAB.”

Anthony founded NASSA’s Carry A Basketball Not A Blade (CABNAB) initiative which educates young people about the dangers of knife crime, county lines and gang activity. CABNAB now educates over 2,000 local schoolchildren every year on the dangers of knife crime in partnership with the Metropolitan Police.

NNASSA Chief Executive Natasha Hart MBE said: “This is a hugely symbolic and proud moment for Anthony and for NASSA. He really deserves this opportunity.”