EFDN members support Amnesty’s Football Welcomes campaign

EFDN members support Amnesty’s Football Welcomes campaign

Over the weekend of April 21-22, several EFDN members were among the sixty football clubs in the UK taking part in Amnesty’s Football Welcomes initiative to celebrate the contribution refugees make to football.

Football Welcomes weekend of action is an initiative started by Amnesty International UK to celebrate the contribution refugees have made to the game, and to highlight the role clubs can play in welcoming refugees and asylum seekers and promoting integration.

This year’s edition of Football Welcomes have seen sixty football clubs across the country, from the Premier League to grassroots refugee teams and celebrity fans– lay aside their rivalries and came together to celebrate the contribution refugee players have made, and continue to make, to the beautiful game. More than half of the Premier League football clubs – including EFDN members Everton, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, took part. They were joined by clubs from the FA Women’s Super League, English Football League (EFL) and Scottish Premiership (SPFL), as well as non-league and grassroots teams across the country.

Beyond the weekend, Amnesty’s Football Welcomes initiative encourages clubs to work with other organisations in their communities to welcome refugees and asylum seekers, and promote integration on the longer term.

Below are highlights of the activities EFDN members had done in support of this meaningful campaign.

Highlights

As we have already covered, in the Premier League, Everton & Everton in the Community supported the campaign by promoting their community work in their match programmes and online. Everton in the Community hosted information days at Goodison Park for asylum seekers and refugees who have been relocated to Merseyside as well as providing match day experiences and several participants have been sign-posted onto other programmes delivered by the programme.

More importantly, former Everton winger and the club’s first International Ambassador, Steven Pienaar, joined Everton’s support by meeting participants of the weekly coaching session for refugees and asylum seekers, and finding out more about the role that EiTC plays in supporting refugees and asylum seekers in their relocation to Liverpool. EiTC has been delivering football sessions for refugess and asylum seekers for almost three years and have supported over 140 individuals from over 25 countries. Reflecting on the visit, Pienaar was proud of the active role that Everton has played in supporting refugees and sending a clear message that: Everton welcomes refugees.

“I was born in apartheid South Africa and I know how sport, including football, can help to bring people together and break down barriers. I’m really proud that Everton is taking part in Amnesty International’s Football Welcomes weekend.” – Steven Pienaar

Dame Judi Dench, famous actress and Honorary Patron of Everton in the Community, has also given her backing to the campaign and said:

“Football, and all sports, are for everyone to enjoy. How wonderful that the football clubs are making this particular stand and ensuring that everybody is included and made welcome.”

Southampton also organised stadium tours for local refugee groups during the weekend of action while Tottenham Hotspur have invited refugees to their next home games.

In the EPL, EFDN member Fulham & Fulham FC Foundation supported the initiative online by sharing their ”Sporting Welcome” project on their website. In collaboration with local organisations, this project aims to provide sport, language support and training opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers in South and South West London. Over 50 young people are engaged each week, with consistent support from the club and first team.

Welcome in the stadium

Meanwhile in Scotland, EFDN members Celtic & Rangers had been working with local partners and charities to offer free access to matches and visits to the stadium. Celtic also promoted their great work supporting refugees and asylum seekers online, with examples include: welcoming 140 Syrian refugees to watch the club won the Scottish Premiership trophy at Celtic Park; donating £60,000 to help refugees fleeing Africa and the Middle East; naming Refuweegee, a community-led charity, as the main beneficiary of last year’s Celtic FC Foundation foodbank collection. Heart of Midlothian & Big Hearts Community Trust also handed out Football Welcomes stickers and leaflets and promoting the initiative online.

Similar to Celtics and Rangers, non-league side and EFDN member Leyton Orient offered free tickets to local refugee groups.

Several Women’s Super League teams took part in raising awareness of Football Welcomes as well, with Everton Ladies, Tottenham Hotspur Ladies and Aston Villa Ladies warming up in special Football Welcomes shirts before their matches. Spurs Ladies also hosted refugee families from the local area and gave those Football Welcomes shirts, signed, to fans as prizes in half-time.

Aston Villa Ladies, in particular, had filmed a special interview with the team’s striker Elizabeta Ejupi. She fled war-torn Kosovo at the age of four to build a new life in England. In the below video she talks about how she was able to make friends, learn the language and ‘become someone’ through football.

Football Welcome is part of Amnesty International’s I Welcome campaign for a better international response to the global refugee crisis. The campaign encourages local communities to work together to create a more welcoming environment for people fleeing conflict and persecution.