The action gets underway today in the Football for UNITY Festival taking place across Dublin and seven other European Cities to showcase the potential of football as an educational tool that can bring communities together and promote social inclusion for newcomers.
Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) in conjunction with local stakeholders NEIC, UNHCR, Irish Refugee Council, Dublin City Council, the FAI and Bohemian FC will be hosting a Football for UNITY festival incorporating 7-a-side football tournaments across the northeast inner city of Dublin, a Youth Forum and a Legacy programme of training nights.
The tournaments are free to enter and open to various age groups. Matches will take place at four all-weather astro pitches across the northeast inner city at Larkin College, O’Connell School, Hubert Fuller Park at St Mary’s East Wall Youth Centre and St. Lawrence O’Toole Recreation Centre. Other pitches including the Commons street MUGA at Mariners Port will be used for training nights.
“I’m delighted to be working with S.A.R.I and the N.E.I.C to bring Football for Unity to Dublin. I’m a real believer in the power of sport to bring people together and this festival is a perfect example of that.” said former Dublin Footballer Michael Darragh Macauley
Factors such as cultural differences, language barriers and social stigmas can make it difficult for third-country nationals (migrants from non-EU countries) to integrate into their new European societies.
Over the past decade, the potential of sport has become increasingly recognised by the EU, with the Council of the European Union observing that “sport is a powerful social tool in many areas such as addressing increasing migrant populations, combating social exclusion or increasing solidarity between generations”. Sporting values, such as teamwork, respect, diversity, equality of opportunity and fair play, are equally European values.
Tareq Altourk, an 18-year-old footballer from Gaza, Palestine is excited for the opportunity to play in this tournament; “I can’t wait for football for unity, I love sport and this is a great opportunity for me to play football and meet new people from all walks of life. Football has always been a big passion of mine so I’m really looking forward to showing what I can do!”
The festival aims to celebrate unity in diversity, break down barriers to social inclusion, transform lives and inspire communities. Co-funded by the European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and coordinated by streetfootballworld, the Football for Unity project will utilise the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament to promote a positive image of migration and help create strong incentives that will lead to a more constructive discourse on migration within European host communities.
Sport Against racism Ireland and Dublin City Council are among the 250+ members of the Sport for Business network of sporting and business organisations working together across a number of key areas.
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