1:0 for a Welcome
Football clubs in Germany promote refugee integration.
A babble of different languages can be heard on the pitch at FSV Hansa 07 in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district: French, Arabic, English, German. But this is not a problem in a game played all over the world: football. After all, the jubilation over a goal sounds the same in any language. Football has a greater integrative effect than almost any other activity. More and more football clubs in Germany are recognizing this, and are committing themselves to helping refugees. One of the pioneers of this positive “welcoming culture” is the project “Champions ohne Grenzen” (i.e. champions without borders). Launched in 2012 by Berliners Carolin Gaffron and Arne Sprengel with the help of the FSV Hansa 07, the project gives refugees the chance to play football. Apart from the serious action on the pitch, the club also promotes exchange, advice and education to stop refugees from feeling so isolated. Carolin Gaffron sees growing interest in Germany. Football club SV Babelsberg 03 established a similar project by the name of “Welcome United 03” – as did Leipzig club SV Lindenau 1848. It is particularly clubs in smaller municipalities which are setting a good example, though Bundesliga clubs are also getting involved in the issue, giving away free tickets or team strips and footballs.
Much more than just 90 minutes of sport
Playing football in a club often means much more than just 90 minutes of sport for refugees who are having to settle into a new environment and at first have little in the way of any social contact. “Football has a particular power to bring people together despite their cultural differences, thereby strengthening social cohesion. It encourages encounters between people, generates understanding and dismantles prejudices on both sides through shared experiences”, stresses Minister of State Aydan Özoguz, Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration. In cooperation with the Bundesliga Foundation and the German Football Association (DFB), she has launched an integration initiative which supports long-term projects aimed at refugee integration – for example “1:0 for a Welcome”, which with the help of the German national football team provides financial support to around 600 football clubs that have committed themselves to helping refugees. In addition, the DFB has published a guideline on “Football with Refugees” for mainstream sports clubs.
www.dfb.de/fileadmin/_dfbdam/55779-Fussball_mit_Fluechtlingen_barrierefrei.pdf
www.strich-durch-vorurteile.de
World Refugee Day on 20 June 2015
