Football — A shared sense of belonging

1 Football a shared sense of belonging ? FURD PresentsFinal Report on the Role of Football in the Lives of Refugees and Asylum SeekersDr Chris Stone on behalf of Football Unites, Racism Divides (FURD)AcknowledgementsThis project would not have been possible without the funding provided by the Big Lottery Research Programme a rare opportunity that allowed the academic gaze to be directed on and by the voluntary sector at that which they themselves considered to be of greatest import. It is a shame there is not further research funding in order to address issues raised by this thanks must go to the research participants, refugee support agencies and their staff without whom the research findings would not have had as much depth.

2 Likewise a great debt of gratitude goes to Football Unites, Racism Divides and all who are involved with the organisation for welcoming me into the FURD family with such , a big thank you to Dr Steve Bradbury for his role as external evaluator, mentor and critical friend to the project. The same goes for other individuals for their help and advice at various times during the course of the project, including Akoi Bazzie, Desbon Bushiri, Tchiyiwe Chihana, Sarah Eldridge, Paul Harvey, Katelyn McKeown, Jim Steinke, Rachel Westerby and Donna all involved, keep up the good Chris StoneJune 2013Dr Chris Stone is a cultural sociologist whose previous research has focused on the embedded nature of Football as a part of everyday life.

3 He is affiliated with Sheffield Hallam University, teaching as an associate lecturer within the Academy of Sport & Physical Activity on Sports & Cultural Studies degree courses. He has been involved with a number of other research, evaluation and consultancy projects concerning sport, community and identity both locally and internationally including work done on behalf of The Football Foundation, Sheffield City Council, Positive Futures, Sheffield United Football Club and Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE).2 Contents04. Introduction08. Background belonging Method Case Study: FURD Football Citizenship Quiz Summary of Key Findings17.

4 Recreational Football Participation Park Football Open Training Sessions Case Study: Group belonging Informal 5-a-side Case Study: Football For Friendship Informal 11-a-side Case Study: Flexi Footie & Iraqi Forever Organised Tournaments Case Study: All Nations Tournament40. Competitive Football Participation Refugee Teams Case Study: Tusaale FC Multicultural Teams Case Study: African Dream Team Case Study: Sharrow United (U21 s) White Teams58. Professional Football Consumption Talking Football Case Study: Conversation Clubbing Watching Football Case Study: Going to Bramall Lane Doing Football Case Study: An Arsenal Fan from Kurdistan75.

5 Conclusions, Limitations and Recommendations Safe Spaces and belonging Embodied Belongingness Mental Health and Self Concept Empowerment and Inclusion Hybridity, Multiculturalism and Group belonging Cultural, Social and Physical Concept 3 IntroductionAccording to Article 1 of The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is defined as: Any person owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.

6 45 Successive ripples of migration into Britain during the past two decades, as a result of relaxing regulations within Europe as well as large scale conflicts in the Middle East, Central and Eastern Africa, along with political indecision and scaremongering in the mass media has changed the narrative that dominates popular understandings of who refugees are and why they are in this a report such as this which is aimed at an audience that may be unaware of such distinctions it is important to provide, by way of introduction, a brief outline of exactly which communities, groups and individuals this research is concerned with.

7 Asylum seekers An asylum seeker in this country is a person who has left their country of origin and formally applied for asylum, for reasons stated in the UN convention quoted above, but whose application has not yet been concluded by the Home Office. Decisions to flee their country of origin are not taken lightly and the journeys that are embarked on are perilous and futures extremely uncertain. A refused asylum seeker is a person whose asylum application has not successfully met the Home Office criteria for claiming protection. Some refused asylum seekers voluntarily return home, others are forcibly returned.

8 For many, despite not meeting the criteria for refugee status, it is not safe or practical for them to return until conditions in their country change and so will be given temporary leave to remain in this country. Refugees In the UK, a person is officially given refugee status when they have their claim for asylum accepted by the government. Refugees are initially granted leave to remain for a period of five years after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain. Refugees are entitled to work and have similar rights to other UK residents and Protection Programme The Gateway Protection programme is the UK s contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) global resettlement programme.

9 The majority of the world s refugees who are fleeing persecution, violence and conflict are unable to travel far beyond the borders of their home country. They often live in refugee camps for years; many children have lived their entire lives in such camps. One of the ways in which the UNHCR seeks to assist such refugees is to offer resettlement to another country. Asylum seekers are presumed to be liars and seen as a burden to Britain rather than victims in need of protection. Their identities have become conflated with Muslim fundamentalism and economic migration from Eastern Europe.

10 6 Sheffield was one of the first cities to welcome refugees through the Gateway Protection Programme, with a group of Liberians arriving in 2004. At the time of writing the Refugee Council has since supported refugees from Liberia, Burma, Congo, Iraq, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Bhutan. Groups of resettled refugees are supported for 12 months by a team of staff which includes project workers, community development workers and volunteer Community Organisations Voluntary and community organisations play an important role in the reception of asylum seekers and integration of refugees in the UK.