The overwhelming popularity of international football tournaments such as the World Cup and the Champions League is a testament to the global popularity of football. Players and fans alike come from all over the world to share a love of a sport that is open to all. It is therefore of immense worth for grassroots football movements to enable the asylum seeker community to participate in football.

Football for the Greater Good

Football Unites, Racism Divides (FURD) is a charitable social inclusion project which seeks to use that love of the game to bring communities together. Specifically, they work to include asylum seekers in their local community by involving them in playing, coaching and refereeing matches. Their success has been so significant that they have undertaken a 3-year long research project to establish the potential for engagement with football to achieve more.

This addresses football’s ability to encourage a feeling of belonging through establishing a routine, providing a commonality of experience among all players and fostering a social scene which transcends nationality, politics, culture or even language. It also provides a ‘comfort zone’ from within which interpersonal relationships can be developed.

Encouraging park football is an affordable and easily accessible way for asylum seekers to join fellow fans in the shared spaces that exist within their local areas. This can break down barriers between the local community and asylum seekers in a way that allows them to engage with one another within the structure of the game. The sociality and shared identity that football creates then lays the foundations for further interaction and acceptance.

The Importance of Belonging

One of the biggest struggles that asylum seekers face when trying to integrate into their local communities is feeling as though they do not belong. The ‘othering’ of asylum seekers- and their inability to grow beyond that label in the eyes of others- forms a constant attack on their sense of identity. Being forced to leave their country of origin creates a pressing need to find a space where they are accepted in their host country.

The lack of personal attachment to a particular area can be overcome by the ability to interact ‘normally’ with a society that is welcoming on a social level. It is particularly important for young asylum seekers who may still be discovering their sense of self, and who may have had this undermined by the conditions they experienced in their country of birth, such as extreme poverty, fear of violence and other trauma. Social isolation contributes to the negative effects of these experiences, with the corollary that being welcomed into the country can have hugely beneficial effects.

Football – A Sport that Unites

The absence of a sense of belonging can lead to a lifetime of mental and physical health problems for asylum seekers. With most having already experienced a significant degree of persecution in their home country, the inability to be accepted in their host country can prove devastating. This is particularly true when they are expected to navigate the complexities of seeking asylum, trying to find work and often mastering a new language and culture with little support.

More than one in ten refugee children suffer from PTSD, and the slightly lower levels among adults are counteracted by the prevalence of anxiety and depression within this age group. Studies have shown that the level of asylum seekers’ social integration plays more of a part in their mental wellbeing than either education or visa status. Making it easier for migrants to be accepted into their new communities could reduce the risk of long-term mental health problems. It is therefore vital that grassroots initiatives such as FURD receive the funding necessary for them to continue their invaluable work.

Football has been identified as a hugely effective way to increase levels of social engagement. Asylum seekers are able to gain acceptance from their peers through shared participation in a mutual interest, something that is not always possible in other contexts.

The Poverty Problem

Because asylum seekers are not permitted to work while their application for British Citizenship is being assessed, they rely on the support offered by the provisions of Section 95. The current asylum support subsistence rate is a mere £37.75 per person per week, lower than the minimum levels of support offered to UK citizens. Many asylum seekers rely on around £5 per day for food, clothing and other essential items. This can leave them struggling to afford the basics, let alone being able to afford even the cheapest social activities.

 

When a family is struggling to clothe and feed themselves, activities which promote mental wellbeing come fairly low on the list of priorities, particularly for children and young people. Charities which promote grassroots football participation understand these issues and work hard to remove any financial barriers to joining a group training session or match. The use of public spaces, volunteer coaches and community funding can reduce the costs significantly, with those involved able to identify those most in need and subsidise the costs for them. This notion is encapsulated in FURD’s open training sessions. Informal in nature, the sessions use football as a catalyst for social interaction and the cultivation of a community amongst the players. Additionally, all players have travel expenses covered, sports equipment provided and receive a cup of tea and a hot meal. In light of the current asylum support rate, such gestures are immensely helpful.

Funding for Grassroots Initiatives

In the words of a Sudanese asylum seeker at a FURD session, ‘when you’re here, you feel more comfortable’. Grassroots, charitable initiatives make such a profound difference, and it is vital that there is funding in place for their work to be continued and furthered. The Football Foundation directs £60m per year into grassroots football, but there is always room for further innovation. For example, sports charities and asylum seeker charities could collaborate in order to ensure that finance is used as effectively as possible. This would ensure that FURD are less of a lone voice and that their good work is built upon.

FURD and similar charities are not just providing asylum-seeking families with the means to improve their mental health and social integration in the short-term – they are also laying the foundations for a lifetime of better mental health for individuals and their communities.

Jo Smith is a content writer for the Immigration Advice Service, an organisation of immigration solicitors that help undocumented migrants to regulate their status.