‘No borders in football’: Refugee team helps newcomers settle in

For refugees and asylum seekers, starting a new life in the United Kingdom presents a host of challenges, from learning the language to finding common ground with the locals. But a grassroots football team in southern England has stepped in to help the newcomers integrate and make friends in their new home. “Borders divide us but there are no borders in football – we are the United Nations!”, says Tomson Chalke, founder and chairman of Sanctuary Strikers Football Club. The club, founded in 2017 in Reading, was created to bring together refugees and non-refugees to play football in a spirit of unity, which Chalke says is the essence of the world’s most popular sport. “Football is the beautiful game – it unites people and promotes community cohesion and integration.”