In this blog, our Grant Manager Erica Lang shows how football has brought people seeking sanctuary in the UK to feel a sense of community and strength.
Football is often described as a universal language transcending communication barriers , connecting people from different backgrounds. Team-work, connection, unity, trust and resilience lie at the heart of the worlds’ most popular sport.
These values resonate deeply with our approach at Migrants Organise, so it was only a matter of time before our work extended to the beautiful game.
Our Football Group emerged out of a prolonged period of loneliness and isolation during the Covid19 pandemic. During these weeks in lockdown in 2020, our team who provide a combination of casework support, mentoring and activities – were finding it challenging to offer the sustained support to relieve the trauma our members were experiencing.
In those months, we established a buddying scheme so that we would closely check in with the people we were supporting. For our members living in asylum hotels, life was hard. Hotels were cramped, the food was substandard and people had no information about when things would change. It was, and still is for thousands of people still living in ‘hotel’ asylum accommodation, a life of detention.
Once the lockdown restrictions were lifted, several of our members, supported by one of our volunteers, came together and started a weekly running group in West London.
Love of football
It wasn’t long before the group began conversations about their love of and wish to play football. At the time there wasn’t anywhere obvious to meet safely as a group.
So, our staff reached out to our local networks and a Primary School in Chelsea offered a football pitch for free every Friday evening. The school, situated at the centre of the Worlds End Estate, has a diverse community and families from many migrant backgrounds. Our values of welcome and friendship felt aligned, so the sessions began!
Getting started
After finding a space we managed to find a brilliant coach – the wonderful Ricky Stone, a FA Level 1 Football Coach and Safeguarding Case Officer. The word got round and the sessions were immediately popular with around 25 members attending each week to train and play together come rain or shine.
We also managed to source money from funders so that we could provide snacks – an essential part of every Migrants Organise activity.
Joining a League
Coach Ricky went above and beyond in his commitment to his group, and he has organised several trips- including to Barnet FC and even a chance to experience an England game at Wembley Stadium. This was a joyful and brilliant experience for the group, and helped create a sense of connection to the wider football community.
As the months went by we took up the opportunity to join a five a side league. Not only was it a brilliant chance to play competitively but it was also so meaningful to build connections with new teams.
We haven’t won the league yet- but we have full belief! As Alphonso Davies, child refugee and world famous left back for Bayern Munich, said: “I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday”.
Healing together, through football
As we watched the team build momentum on the pitch, we also had no doubt that the football group was breaking down barriers off the pitch too.
To get a sense of the wider impact of the project, we ran an evaluation survey. It showed that 69% said that their mental health had ‘improved significantly’; 31% said that their mental health had improved ‘moderately’. This is incredibly important.
For members who are stuck in small hotel rooms day after day, with little control or information over how their asylum case is progressing, having a moment to feel composed and in control is so important to re-claiming agency over their lives.
For many dealing with acute trauma like PTSD, a moment of calm also gives space for our caseworkers to work together with members to find practical solutions – like finding a solicitor, learning English, registering with the doctor and so forth.
It’s clear to us that the football group has offered a level playing field for new arrivals from conflict zones, who had been excluded from the wider community. We’ve been able to deepen our trust and build relationships outside of the casework model- connecting many to specialist mental health support and other invaluable services.
Building power and joy
We’re so inspired by what this Football Group have achieved – and our journey won’t end there. We’re currently looking for a new pitch in East London and for financial support so that we can keep going. If you can help us please get in touch info@migrantsorganise.org.
The joy of sharing space and building communities of hope and solidarity is a reminder of the better world we’re creating together.
We would like to thank Rethink, RBKC and the K&C Foundation for supporting this project so far.
Migrants Organise provides a platform for refugees and migrants to organise for power, dignity and justice. We combine advice and support for individuals subjected to hostile immigration policies with grassroots organising, advocacy and campaigning. Our big vision is a welcoming society based on principles of dignity, justice and solidarity.
