Footballers Daughter Marries Pharma Billionaires Son

The daughter of veteran host and England footballer John Fashanu is set to marry a billionaire African businessman in a lavish wedding held over three days and spanning two continents. 

Bride Amal Fashanu patched up a bitter feud with her famous father on the eve of her wedding that will see him walk her up the aisle when she marries Ghanaian tycoon Mohamad Odaymat. 

Speaking publicly for the first time about the planned epic event, Ms Fashanu revealed how her wedding to an heir to one of Ghana's most influential billionaire families will take place in both Africa and Europe assisted by private jets.

And thanks to her making up with her famous father, he is now set to play a prominent role in both legs - despite concerns about his declining health.

Amal, 37, told how she was moved to patch things up with the former England and striker when his health took a turn for the worse.

Amal revealed John, now 63, has been laid low by a mystery condition which she believes may be connected to him heading thousands of balls during his 17 years at the top of the professional game - as other former pro footballers have suffered. 

Now she is hoping that John - who has been living in Nigeria for the past 13 years - will be fully recovered in time to be one of the guests of honour on the biggest day of her life.

Amal said more than 600 guests will be invited to their celebrations - exactly a year after their legal wedding - which will be held in Nigeria, where her father lives, and Spain - which is home to her mother, former model Marisol Acuna Duenas.

The Nigerian TV presenter and entrepreneur revealed the main event will be held on May 7 next year - even though she and Mr Odaymat are actually technically already married.

Amal said of the glitzy event: 'We're looking at maybe 600 people for the wedding. Part one will be in Lagos. We'll fly there first and have a traditional Nigerian wedding and then we'll have a traditional Spanish one in Madrid after.

'We'll have a big wedding over three days.

'I'm hoping both my mum and my dad will be at both. We're looking into hiring a jet so we can move everybody from one place to another and they won't need to financially burden themselves.'

She added: 'We have enough time to plan and make sure nobody is forgotten.

'I'm looking for wedding planners. Not everybody can plan a wedding like this and the person has to be very patient.'

The couple were recently legally wed in a low-key courthouse ceremony in front of just four witnesses before hosting what was meant to be a small planned party for 40 Ghanaian-based friends and relatives - although they ended up entertaining more than 150 people.

Amal told how football helped bring her together with Mohamad, who is of Lebanese origin and runs his own pharmaceutical company as well as having business ties with a billionaire uncle who shares his name.

She was introduced by one of her best friends, Imani Ayew who is the sister of former Premier League stars Jordan and Andre Ayew and daughter of ex-Ghana captain Abedi Pele.

Amal - who divides her time between the UK and Ghana and has a home in west London - said Imani invited her for a night out at a lounge bar in the west African country's capital of Accra - and Mohamed was there too.

She said: 'Since then we have been together - he's definitely the one.

'From that first night I knew that we were a match. We met each other and nine months later we got engaged and we've just got married.

'I was four years single before this and for four years, I remember calling up my best mate.

'She's married and has got three kids. I remember calling her and crying.

'Then without knowing it, or even expecting it, all of a sudden it happened in a random place in a country that is not even mine. It was just crazy.

'This was the piece that I needed just to settle my life. My dream was always to have children so to my mind I can't believe it even today that this happened.'

The night of their wedding ceremony, the couple returned to the venue where they met to host an animal print-themed 'Wild at Heart' wedding party.

Amal said: 'My husband is very good friends with a lot of politicians and the son of the president. Everybody came.

'We invited 40 people and 150 turned up. You can't send them away so we just had to ram them all in.'

The wedding will see a three-day celebration of their families' cultures and Amal is hoping that some 'big name performers' will provide the entertainment.

She said: 'We're about to spend a lot.'

Amal told how she wants her father to share in her joy now that he has become a big part of her life again.

Amal has revealed how she fell out with John after she claimed he signed up to star in ITV's Dancing on Ice behind her back at a time when she was acting as his agent.

But concerns over his health brought them closer together.

She said John recently travelled back to the UK where the Professional Footballers' Association's doctors carried out medical tests.

The centre forward began his career at Norwich City before going on to have an eight-year spell with Wimbledon - scoring more than 100 league goals in 276 appearances.

Known as Fash the Bash because of his belligerent style, the 6ft1in tall striker helped the club to promotion to the top tier of football for the first time in their history and a memorable 'rags versus riches' FA Cup final triumph over Liverpool in 1988.

His performances, playing alongside fellow 'Crazy Gang' stars Vinnie Jones and Dennis Wise, led to him winning two England caps.

But Amal said: 'The problem is that dad had a number of hits to the head all his life.

'For 20 something years that ball has affected his head sometimes. We're keeping an eye out but he's just not a normal man for his age.

'He's had all these tests done. We went recently to the PFA's doctors and everything.

'He's had his tests and it seems like he's OK. The report even said that his body is of a 48-year-old man on paper but there are certain things that happened that I'm concerned about.

'It's not really memory problems. There's things I see in him, his character, maybe his mood - it's a bit down or whatever. I just want to make sure.

'He's Fash the Bash - I mean it's very clear. He's always been very up-tone, happy and positive.

'Sometimes when I see his character - it could be Nigeria, it could be his food. I'm keeping an eye out to see what's going on.

'I'm starting to adapt to the fact that he may not be able to move and to do the sort of things the way he used to do, so I'll have to start getting ready.

'Nigeria is not the best for medical care in that sense so there's certain things that you have to adapt for him.

'He would love to stay there but looking at it in the long term, I think he would be better in his country. He was born and brought up in the UK and every one of his friends and family is living there.

'Eventually I would love for him to consider going back to the UK.

'He's got his own place in London. I could come and go. We could get someone to look after his food and look after his cleaning and things like that.

'It's inevitable that at some point he might feel more comfortable going back to the UK than staying in Nigeria. At the moment I'm watching out.

'We're just keeping an eye out to see if we can take him back to the UK in the next two or three months to see what further tests can be done.'

Amal - whose work as a fashion designer has seen her launch a successful handbag line and streetwear brand - also revealed she is starting a business with her father as she believes it will help keep him active.

She also has a singing career while her latest venture has seen her setting up a trendy matcha concept store in Accra where she now spends much of her time.

Amal is gearing up to open a second cafe and store selling the Japanese tea in Abuja - Nigeria's administrative and political capital.

Her father moved there after setting up home with his fifth wife who he is no longer with.

Amal said: 'It's around 45 minutes by plane to Abuja. I've been going pretty much every weekend for the past three months now to see my dad and to set things up.

'I feel like everything I've been creating are things for him to just stay active. Dad kind of needed something to keep him busy.

'We are opening up a health and wellness clinic and dad is going to open a football academy attached to it.

'It will be health, fitness, wellness, football - and I'll add the matcha.'

Speaking of their previous differences she added: 'There's been a lot of ups and downs to be honest but I have to put that aside right now because he's getting older. With age, things just change.

'I feel like he's done a lot of bad in life but he's tried to correct himself and we all deserve a second opportunity.

'We started speaking again around a year-and-a-half ago. Since then I've been trying to help him. I run pretty much everything.'

Amal is the founder of The Justin Fashanu Foundation, set up in her uncle's name to fight prejudice in professional sport and promote mental health awareness.

Justin, the first openly gay professional footballer, was found hanged at a deserted lock-up garage he had broken into in Shoreditch, east London, at the age of 37 in May 1998.

Amal was aged just nine and was one of the last people to see him alive after he had visited the family home the previous night, promising to take her to visit Sir Elton John, who was a friend, at his studio the next day.

Amal said: 'I would like in my wedding to do something in memory of Justin, maybe to set off some white doves. I would have loved him to have been there.'