Sheffield Foundation Shows Solidarity With Refugees

Sheffield United Community Foundation is joining football clubs across the country this month (April) to welcome refugees and people seeking asylum, as part of Amnesty International’s Football Welcomes campaign.

To mark the month, which is supported by the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, Sheffield United Community Foundation have been running weekly tournaments during EFDN’s Welcome Through Football sessions. This past week, the participants were joined by Sheffield United and Wales international footballer Rhys Norrington-Davies.

Charles, a volunteer turned coach with the Foundation, sees Welcome Through Football as a massive influence on his life:

“The programme has helped me improve my English and put me on the path to build a career in football. When I first started here, I worked along with 15 clients on our Belonging group for refugees and asylum seekers. Thanks to Welcome Through Football, I have been able to make many friends and keep active in the community.”

Welcome Through Football Project

The two and a half year Welcome through Football project is funded by the UEFA Foundation for children and works in partnership with the European Football for Development Network (EFDN) alongside seven other European clubs including Sheffield United Community Foundation, FC Emmen, Apollon Limassol, SV Werder Bremen, Shakhtar Social Foundation, Benfica Foundation and Everton FC.

The three main pillars of this project are:

Socialisation to sports – providing different football offerings for young refugees of both genders related to their specific requirements such as language skills or the possibility of trauma.
Socialisation in sports – working on team structure, giving more responsibility to the participants and offering additional steps out with the sports training sessions.
Socialisation through sports – Focusing on the skills the participants learn from taking part in the available offers so that they qualify for further education in and outside of sports.