As hundreds of thousands of refugees continue to arrive in Europe from war torn countries, football – the most global of all sports – is doing its part in making the new arrivals feel welcome and safe. By offering free tickets to topflight games, donating match receipts to charity and setting up new teams and leagues for the displaced, clubs and organisations are using the beautiful game and its universal language to break down barriers and help integrate the new arrivals.
TICKETS PLEASE
One of Europe’s leading clubs, German champion FC Bayern München, opened its doors by providing a training camp for young refugees. The camp will offer meals, football sessions and German language classes to help deal with the emotional traumas the children have suffered during their long journeys to safety. In addition, Bayern has also pledged to donate €1m towards projects to help those involved in the crisis.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chair of Bayern, said: “We see it as our social responsibility to help the refugees, needy children, women and men; to help them and to accompany them in Germany.”
Other German clubs to set up initiatives to welcome refugees include Borussia Dortmund – which invited 220 refugees to watch their game against Norwegian side Odd in the Europa League in August – and Mainz 05, which gave out 200 free tickets to their home match against Hannover.
Elsewhere, clubs taking part in this season’s Champions League and Europa League pledged to donate €1 from every ticket they sell to refugee charities – raising more than €2.8m (£2m) in the process.
The campaign, called 90 Minutes for Hope, is based on an initial idea from Portuguese side Porto and backed by the European Club Association (ECA), the independent body which represents elite clubs at European level.
In a statement, the ECA said: “We cannot close our eyes to the dramatic scenes currently taking place throughout Europe. We, the European clubs, understand that our work goes well beyond what we achieve on the pitch and are naturally committed to engaging in social causes.”
Other clubs to have set up their own funding initiatives to help refugees include Spain’s Real Madrid and France’s Paris St. Germain – both of which have made sizeable donations to help charities working with refugee children. Meanwhile, Italian Serie A club AS Roma, pledged €575,000 (£411,000, US$620,000) to its Football Cares campaign.
NEW SET OF CLUBS
All across Europe, clubs are being launched for refugees and games arranged against local teams to promote integration and to form friendships. One of these is Wacker Refugee Club, a team set up exclusively for refugees by German club FC Wacker Munchen. The aim is to give young boys aged between 12 and 18 the opportunity to kick-start a normal life.
Europe isn’t alone with its football-related aid missions either. Football Federation Australia (FFA) launched its own Football Cares initiative, designed to help integrate 12,000 Syrian refugees into communities in the country. “Football is the only sport which is universally loved and understood by people everywhere,” FFA chief executive David Gallop said.
