Believe in the power of football to tackle the “refugee reception crisis”

The “migrant crisis” has been in the news for many years. But isn’t the real problem the reception of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees? For Sophie Lopez, projects manager in Sport and Citizenship in charge of the FIRE+ project, the EU should be more open about its positions and support people from civil society who are active in this area.

The right to asylum is being undermined all over Europe. Yet, it is a basic human right which should be granted to every individual whose circumstances meet the criteria of the Geneva Convention. Migration flows have been provoking controversy for several years. We are faced with a hardening of political attitudes to migration. Some people see these arrivals as a burden, or even a «threat» that European societies need to get rid of. To achieve this, all means are fine: closing borders, an increase in hate speech, making regularisation procedures stricter, tightening sea rescue authorisations, externalisation of migration policies to countries where human rights are not respected, and so on.
Since 2015, the crisis in refugee and migrant reception has grown steadily worse. It is indeed a “reception crisis” and not a “migrant crisis”, as it is often claimed. It is not the people arriving who have become critical, but the conditions for receiving them which weaken the whole social system in the host country.

It is important to reverse this controversial institutional narrative. Human beings have always moved from one place to another and they will continue to do so in the future. It is essential to help the newcomers find their place in society. A coordinated approach from Europe and support at the national level are needed, but the right conditions for inclusion must be implemented at the local level too. If the highest authorities in EU Member States are incapable of extinguishing the reception crisis fire, civil society should take the lead with this task, which is well within its scope.

In this context, sport remains a powerful social inclusion tool for people in exile. The European Commission is beginning to recognise this power for inclusion. Sport is identified in the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027. The Erasmus+ programme supports initiatives promoting social inclusion in and through sport. Nevertheless, sport is still absent from the big discussions, such as during the 7th European Migration Forum on the topic of “Youth inclusion: key to successful migrant integration”. That is why we are advocating that sport as a tool for the inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants should be specifically written into the European agenda. We think that the EU should present franker positions and provide Member states with clear directives on this topic.

Football creates a social link between the locals and new arrivals

There’s no gainsaying that football is the most popular sport in the world. It is found on every continent. It is easy to organise. All that is needed for a match is a ball and a few players. The grassroots football club is often at the heart of local social life. That is why football can, and must, play a role in the reception and in the social integration process.
When we developed our European projects FIRE and FIRE+ (Football Including Refugees in Europe), we made the following observations:

• On the one hand, the locals are not necessarily anti-immigration. A lot of them want to meet newcomers, share something with them and get to know them. However, this does not happen automatically.
• On the other hand, the new arrivals find themselves in a new community in a new town. They have lost their bearings, so new links need to be made.

This link, this place to meet, could be a football pitch. When they play football, the locals and the asylum seekers and refugees share something. They get to know each other. This goes much further. The newcomers take part in the life of the club by attending matches and social events organised throughout the season and make a new social circle for themselves.
Football should also be examined from this point of view. Or rather, what football is in the first place: a ball game.
By its nature, football is not exclusive. It should not reproduce discrimination. It must free itself from hateful behaviours and racism. Perhaps it is necessary to remove the competitive aspect and focus on the social virtues of football in order to guarantee the successful integration of refugees and asylum seekers in their host communities.
Of course, sport and especially football cannot solve every problem. But we must believe in the power of football and continue to act. There are many initiatives that can be found in Europe. With the FIRE+ project we wanted not only to support them, but to give them visibility. Things are being done. However, there is still a lot of work to do to make football a real social inclusion tool for all the asylum seekers and refugees, without distinction, whatever their nationality or their host country. We will get there!

Read the journal :

Sport and Citizenship 56 : Conclusion of the Fire+ project