July 13 – Hard on the heels of UEFA’s Unity Euro Cup for refugees that has just completed in Frankfurt, FIFA have announced their own support for displaced communities via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Filipino Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).
The agreement will encourage organisations to work closely with those forcibly displaced from their homes via access to football, education and other opportunities. Currently, more than 110 million people are considered to have bee forcibly displaced from their home countries.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “We believe very much in this collaboration, and i would like to assure you my personal commitment to make our little contribution, to give a little bit of a smile to children, but also to adults like us, who remain children when they see a ball, all around the world. We often say that football has the power to unite the world, and the work FIFA and UNHCR will assume together because of this agreement is a clear commitment to that.”
During the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup team captains will be invited to wear armbands promoting the refugee cause as one of a number of social causes that will be promoted on armbands.
Without specifiying exactly how, Infantino said: “We are ready to work together, to collaborate in the different refugee camps and the different areas where there is a need. Via projects supported by the FIFA Foundation, there is a particular focus on improving the lives of displaced people worldwide, empowering them to restart their lives and contribute to their new community.”
“With this partnership, football is showing real solidarity with the many millions who have been forced to flee. We look forward to seeing tangible results from this important collaboration,” said Grandi.
UEFA’s support of refugee access to sport is more advanced with the Unity Cup having completed its second edition with 16 teams of refugees competing under the badges of their new countries.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1714195319labto1714195319ofdlr1714195319owedi1714195319sni@o1714195319fni1714195319