Team sports have bonded friends and strangers for ages. Today, we’re moving to seeing how this old tradition is playing out in Greece,the birthplace of the Olympics, but in a very modern setting.
Our friends at Communitere are using sports to unify a refugee community with their neighbors. Using the world’s favorite sport – football!
Football (soccer in the U.S.) is beloved by so many communities across the globe. But when a refugee is living in a new camp, there is not always space or resources to play.
Today on Day 20, we’re bringing football back to the refugee community in Greece – by hosting a football tournament!
We set up at the center pitch in the YMCA. And over 80 attendees showed up ready to play.
“The reaction was 100% positive. You could see the happiness in their faces of belonging to a team,” said a teammate from Communitere. “Football has this power, making people that do not know each other play together and become friends in order to achieve a win.”
Being able to play sports and spend time with friends and loved ones is a great way of making a brand new place feel a little more like home. It’s amazing how a simple game can bring people together – and help to see that we’re not so different after all.
