Abdul-Latif Pouget with manager Deniz Koca

AROUND 100 football clubs will show the power of the grassroots game as they unite with a minute’s silence to honour a top player who was knifed to death.

The tribute for Abdul-Latif Pouget, 20, has been organised by the Barnet Sunday League in solidarity with the high-flying premier division club he played for throughout his teenage years.

Zaza FC was set up specifically to help pull London teenagers away from knife crime and drugs and holds regular events to educate its players.

The 11-a-side league they play in is one of the capital’s biggest, spanning several boroughs including Camden and reaching out into the suburbs of Hertfordshire.

Abdul-Latif had been out of action with a long-term injury for several months and was due to make a long-awaited comeback on November 3.

He died in hospital on Monday – three days after being attacked with a knife in Back Hill, close to his home in Clerkenwell. Police had been called to reports of a moped crash.

Lanterns are expected to be released in his memory on Sunday in Enfield when Zaza face Big Hitters in what will be an emotionally charged clash in the FA-sponsored London Challenge Cup.

Zaza FC club secretary Duygu Ozen told the New Journal: “The main purpose for us of putting together this club was to pull the children away from crime, and drugs.  It started off with my brother – who played football. We wanted to protect our own [Turkish] community. But then we had children from all nationalities wanting to get involved so it kind of outgrew that.

“We always give the players advice. We do nights, and organise events on knife crime and drugs. We gather them together for a meal and speak about these matters.

A bouquet of flowers in Back Hill

“The thing is, if you are brought up in London but you are from a different country, you have two nationalities – and you kind of have two identities, it can be frustrating. What we wanted to do is to try balancing that. We speak to them about discipline. Schools in London are tough.

“You see loads of gangs, the children are out on the streets. We tried to help them avoid this by training them up, and pulling them into football. “What has happened is really scary for us all, because it just shows how knife crime is coming closer and closer.”

Describing Abdul-Latif, she said: “I’ve known him since he was 14 and he was always a very quiet child, very polite – that was his personality. He would never get in trouble on the pitch. He was the type of player to try and calm situations down.

“If he wasn’t picked for the game, he would still come along just to be by the sidelines. Football was his ambition, but he was looking for a job. Our manager did offer him a job at our restaurant, but it was too far for him to go to Chigwell.”

Zaza is a language spoken by Kurdish people in Turkey.

John Eager, who runs the league, said: “He loved his football and he must have been some player to be at that level at that age. From what people are saying, football was his life. And for most people, it’s an escape. When you cross those white lines, all your worries go away. Here we have a lad who gets to go out and build a bond with a coach, and develop under a club like Zaza. Grassroots football, it’s all of that in the purest form.

“It’s a pleasure and makes me proud to do the minute’s silence for him. We’ve got about 98 teams over in the league, 11 divisions of football, and every fixture this weekend will be hosting the silence.”

Mr Eager said the league was “quite big on silences”, adding: “Sadly we’ve done this a couple of times already this year.”

Oguzcan Dereli, 26, from Islington, was arrested on Sunday and charged with murder the next day following Abdul-Latif’s death.

Paramedics treating Abdul-Latif discovered stab injuries and he was taken by air ambulance to hospital where he died.

The cordon was removed on Tuesday morning but a significant amount of blood was still on the ground, drawing criticism from many office workers talking to the New Journal in the cobbled back-street yesterday (Wednesday).

Superintendent Jack Rowlands, one of the senior officers responsible for policing Camden, said: “We understand a close-knit community is in shock but we are determined to bring justice for the victim’s loved ones and continue to support the local neighbourhood as best as we can during this difficult time.”

Councillor Richard Olszewski, leader of Camden Council, said: “This is a tragic loss of a young life and our condolences and our thoughts are with this young man’s family and his friends.”

On Tuesday morning 16-year-old Deonte Mowatt-Slater was stabbed to death in similar circumstances in Courtauld Road, Archway. The Met said: “We retain an open mind and are con­sidering all reasonable lines of enquiry.”