Basketball player and television host
Marco Elsafadi was born the 6th of December 1976 in Tripoli in Lebanon. He came to Norway in 1987 together with his family as Palestine refugees. He is a professional basketball player and has represented the Norwegian national team for the last 12 years.
In 2002, Elsafadi founded the organization New Page, which focus on helping vulnerable young people in danger of committing criminality and violence, or ending up in abuse. He has received several prizes for his work, including the ‘Role Model of the Year’ award at Idrettsgallaen in 2006.
During the summer 2009, Elsafadi developed a serious disease that paralyzed him from the chest down. After staying for six months in the hospital, he completed the Berlin Marathon in autumn 2010. Two years later, he became a national basketball champion with his team Frøya.
He has been a host on different programmes on national television, and in 2014 he participated – and won – the popular show ‘Mesternes Mester’. Recently, the Norwegian author Erik Fossen has written a book about Marco Elsafadi’s life.
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