Fulham, Chelsea Ladies and QPR among those celebrating contributions by refugees

Fourteen London football clubs, including Fulham, QPR and Chelsea Ladies will be joining teams across the country and celebrity fans taking part in Amnesty International UK’s second Football Welcomes initiative this weekend.

Football Welcomes celebrates the contribution refugees make to the beautiful game.

Sixty clubs altogether will be participating in the weekend of activities, which kicks off on Saturday 21 April.

The event took place for the first time last April, on the 80th anniversary of the arrival in the UK of a group of child refugees from the Spanish Civil War - evacuated to the UK after the bombing of Guernica on 26 April 1937 - who went on to become some of the first refugees to play professional football in the UK.

This year, twice the number of clubs are taking part, including 12 in the English Premier League, as well as teams from the FA Women’s Super League, the Scottish Premiership, the English Football League, and non-league and grassroots clubs all over the country.

London clubs AFC Wimbledon, Arsenal, Arsenal Women, Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Chelsea Ladies, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leyton Orient, QPR, Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur Ladies, Watford and West Ham Utd are putting on various activities and events to show their support for and solidarity with refugees.

Before the London derby between Brentford and QPR on Saturday, the two clubs will be holding a match for refugee participants in their community programmes. The group will all go to the game together, where they will be the guard of honour wearing Amnesty t-shirts saying Football Welcomes Refugees as the players come onto the pitch.

Fulham’s foundation, which is working with local charities to offer weekly football sessions to refugees and asylum seekers, will be supporting Football Welcomes online, and some of the Chelsea Ladies squad will be promoting the initiative on social media.

The event has also attracted a long list of celebrity supporters. Keira Knightley joins England and Chelsea Ladies defender Anita Asante and celebrity football fans Patrick Stewart, Dame Judi Dench, Kaiser Chiefs, Stephen Fry, Patrick Stewart, Ken Loach, Jordan Stephens and Juliet Stevenson, as well as footballers Mario Vrančić and Steven Pienaar, in showing their support.

Chelsea Ladies and England defender, Anita Asante, who spent four seasons with FC Rosengard in Malmö, Sweden, before re-signing for Chelsea this year, said: "During my time in Malmö I was fortunate enough to meet and interact with refugees from all over the world, so for me this weekend holds so much importance.”

"I’m horrified by the way governments of some of the richest countries in the world have been turning their backs on refugees over the last couple of years. I feel lucky to have discovered my great passion in life in football. It can give you a real sense of purpose and belonging, and both are much needed when you’ve had to leave everything behind."

Naomi Westland, Amnesty Football Welcomes Manager, said: "It’s wonderful to see even more clubs laying aside their rivalries this weekend and coming together to say refugees are welcome here. At a time when politics is often dominated by hate-filled and divisive rhetoric, this shows that there is another story to be told.

"Footballers with a refugee background have been making their mark on professional football in the UK for many years, with many playing at a national level for their adopted country or country of origin. Football clubs are at the heart of their communities and have a vital role to play in helping people who’ve fled conflict and persecution settle in to a new country and culture."

Football Welcomes is part of Amnesty International’s I Welcome campaign for a better international response to the global refugee crisis. The campaign encourages local communities to work together to create a more welcoming environment for people fleeing conflict and persecution. 

April 20, 2018