World Refugee Day – EFDN uses football as a tool for integration
Today, on World Refugee Day, we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. In recent years, football clubs in Europe have supported refugees through sustainable football based social inclusion programmes.
Together with their stakeholders and cooperation partners, football clubs are contributing to the integration of refugees in European communities and supporting other organisations such as UNHCR, UNICEF and the international Red Cross to deliver sports activities in refugee camps outside of Europe. At the same time, several EFDN members implemented programmes to change refugees’ lives in European Countries. EFDN is currently implementing such a programme together with five of its members.
Welcome Through Football
The EFDN launched the ‘Welcome Through Football’ programme in collaboration with member clubs Werder Bremen, Apollon Limassol, KAA Gent, Everton FC, Vitesse Arnhem. The co-funded programme by Erasmus Plus will run for 12-months with the purpose of sharing expertise, experiences and best practices on community programmes which have a focus on young refugees from the ages of 7-25 year old.
The five clubs each currently have their own football-based community programmes focusing on social inclusion, integration and acceptation of refugees in their region and Europe and one of the key outputs from the programme will be the development a comprehensive football based social inclusion methodology which will be first tested in the five collaborating countries with a view to inspiring and supporting other professional grassroots clubs wanting to start their own activities and programmes for refugees.
EFDN members and partners raise awareness for #WorldRefugeeDay
Our members use their brand power to raise awareness for various issues. On World Refugee Day, among others Barca Foundation, PAOK and Chelsea Foundation posted on their social media channels about World Refugee Day. Our partner Fare network shared a XI of players that were refugees.
We want to change the rules for all those children that are forced to flee their homes. #WorldRefugeeDay #BarçaNewRules
Check how we are helping Refugee children in Greece, Lebanon, Italy and Catalonia.👐 ➡https://t.co/xWvBPV07Lx⬅ pic.twitter.com/NLXqd444Qc
— Barça Foundation (@FundacioFCB) June 20, 2019
#PAOK supports World Refugee Day. #WeAreAllRefugees #PAOKaction #MoreThanFootball pic.twitter.com/1Wow7tMgmD
— PAOK FC / ΠAOK (@PAOK_FC) June 20, 2019
On #WorldRefugeeDay here's a look at our work with Universal Language to give those who have recently moved to England the opportunity to play football and improve their English… pic.twitter.com/gzNGCMknOJ
— Chelsea Foundation (@CFCFoundation) June 20, 2019
On #WorldRefugeeDay we celebrate refugees in football with our 2019 Fare Refugee XI. To coincide with #FIFAWWC the list includes 6⃣ inspiring women, plus a Ballon D'Or winner. This would be some team. 👏👍🏻💪🏿 https://t.co/i1YiK7Ny0h pic.twitter.com/stVxZr3fpi
— Fare (@farenet) June 20, 2019
