Football Welcomes All

The campaign was first Launched in April 2017 to celebrate the contribution refugees and asylum seekers make, not only to football but to all aspects of community life.

Across the country, the campaign encourages football clubs and associations at all levels to organise events and activities to bring people together through the world's most popular sport. 
 
While Covid-19 restrictions mean many will have to be online this year, Sunderland City Council has been working with partners including Sunderland Association Football Club (SAFC), the Foundation and Beacon of Light, University of Sunderland and the city's voluntary and community sector to organise physical games.
 
A rolling friendly four-a-side match with regular substitutions to give everyone the chance to play, was hosted outside at the Beacon of Light sports and community hub next to Sunderland's world famous Stadium of Light.

It featured teams drawn from the refugee and asylum seeker community, and a team from the University of Sunderland where thousands of international students from all over the world study every year.
 
Fiona Brown, the City Council's Executive Director of Neighbourhoods, said: "Sunderland is a truly International, outward looking city, with a history of sharing culture, trade and ideas across the globe. We have been proud to welcome people from all parts of the world into our communities for generations, and this has helped us create our rich cultural and industrial heritage.

"Football is a passion for people across the world. We're delighted to be working with our city's world famous football club and using the tremendous sports and community facilities at the Foundation and Beacon of Light to host matches alongside our university and amazing voluntary sector partners."

The event was backed by the Durham FA and organised with the help of Sunderland's voluntary sector including Friends of the Drop-in for Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Sunderland (FODI), Fightback, International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS) and Young Asian Voices. Players and the referee were joined at the match by one of the city's most popular, famous players and seasoned anti-racism campaigner, Gary Bennett.

Gary made more than 350 appearances for Sunderland and was twice voted player of the season by fans.

He said: "It's fantastic that we can get together as a city to support the Football Welcomes Refugees campaign.

"Sport is great way to bring people together to remember and realise that it's the colour of people's shirts and not the colour of their skins that really matters out there on the pitch and on the street."
 
The annual campaign was first launched in April 2017. This was the 80th anniversary of the arrival in the UK of a group of child refugees from the Spanish Civil War who went on to become some of the first refugees to play professional football.
 
Naomi Westland, Movement Building Manager at Amnesty International UK, said: "With the long-awaited return of outdoor activities, we are excited to see the commitment from the footballing community to come together and welcome refugees.

"Clubs like Sunderland are at the heart of their communities and football can be a powerful force for good, bringing people together and providing a sense of purpose and belonging. For those who've fled conflict and persecution and had to leave everything behind, this is incredibly important."