Wednesday, May 19, 2021
His father is “really proud”
15-year-old killed in video game
Kiyan Prince had his first contract as a professional footballer in prospect when he died in May 2006. Now he can at least appear in a video game for the club that believed the 15-year-old could have a career at the time. Prince’s father is fascinated by the digital image.
Kiyan Prince had already taken the first steps to fulfill his dream. The 15-year-old wanted to be a footballer and played in the Queens Park Rangers’ junior team in 2006. So good that there has even been talk of a professional contract that the club, which is now based in the English second division, wanted to offer its young players. But Kiyan Prince should never get the chance to prove himself at the highest level – because he died in tragic circumstances in May 2006.
The 15-year-old had shown moral courage and tried to settle a dispute when he was attacked with a knife. Only two hours later, Prince was pronounced dead, and the perpetrator was later sentenced to life imprisonment. He is now being honored for his courage by still being allowed to play as a professional footballer, even if only as a virtual one. In the soccer simulation FIFA 21, Prince is now part of the squad of his Queens Park Rangers, his image is 30 years old and has the number 30 on his back.
Publisher EA created this image using deepfake technologies and ancient images. The goal: It should look like it could have looked when it was 30 years old. His father Mark Prince spoke to the BBC of an “emotional moment” when he saw his son on screen when he was 30 years old: “I recognized Kiyan in him. I am really proud.”
“I want my son to be known not for the tragedy surrounding his death, but for his achievements. We honor his talent and hopefully can inspire other children to do the same – no matter what their strengths,” explains Mark Prince . After the violent death of his son, he founded a foundation that campaigns against knife crime and violence among young people. “I said it back then that something like this can happen. That Kiyan would save lives and it might all make a deeper sense. To have said it then and now – 15 years later – to experience reality is unbelievable for me . “
The Queens Park Rangers tweeted, “Kiyan Prince returns to life as the professional footballer he should have been.” Symbolically, they made up for what was no longer possible due to the tragedy of reality and equipped Prince with a symbolic professional contract. Lee Hoos, the managing director of the second division club, is quoted as saying: “With his legacy we try to reach young people so that more teenagers don’t have to leave us early, he’s the perfect ambassador for this cause.”
In 2019, the club renamed itself that good cause and its stadium. Since 1904 QPR played on Loftus Road, unlike many clubs never sold the naming rights to a sponsor. A local charity was to be awarded the contract – and so the homestead of the Queens Park Rangers has since been named after the foundation that was established in the name of their former youth player: “Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium”.
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