Nobel Peace Prize winner and Eagles fan Malala Yousafzai attends her first game
Yousafzai has wanted to watch an Eagles game for a while but her fandom is not new.
On Sunday, Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai was spotted at Lincoln Financial Field with her husband, Asser Malik, for the Eagles’ season opener against the Washington Commanders.
According to a team spokesperson, the Eagles leadership invited the education activist and her husband to attend the game.
Fans took to social media to post images of Yousafzai in the stands, donning a Jalen Hurts jersey.
She quote-tweeted an X post of her pictured on the jumbotron with the caption, “GO BIRDS 🦅." .
Last October Yousafzai visited Philadelphia on the book tour for her memoir, Finding My Way, where she was in conversation with Kylie Kelce.
“I’m really excited to be in Philadelphia,” the cricket fan had said to The Inquirer, “and open to going to an Eagles game. I don’t think I’ve been to any of the games.”
At the book event, encouraged by Kelce, Yousafzai joined the live audience for an Eagles chant. She later posted a picture of herself hugging Kelce on Instagram, with her husband and former Eagle Jason Kelce smiling in the corner of the photo.
Last December, Yousafzai posted a picture of herself wearing an Eagles jersey during her travels with Malik, who is a former executive with the Multan Sultans, a Pakistani professional cricket team. The team’s primary color, coincidentally enough, is also green.
Judging by the online reaction, Yousafzai, the youngest person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, was welcomed into the Eagles fold.
“You deserve a 2nd Nobel Prize for bringing a peaceful approach to Eagles fandom!,” one X user commented.
Yousafzai’s first visit to Philly was in 2014, when she received the Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center.
In April, she rolled back into Philly to receive WHYY’s Lifelong Learning Award, where she also gave a Birds shoutout.
“I just want to say one thing to Philly. Go Birds,” she said to the crowd.
Now that she witnessed the Eagles’ victory over Washington this Saturday, she might just be saying that a lot more.
Reporter Rob Tornoe contributed to this story
