At Dulwich Hamlet we’re proud to welcome and support our local refugee community, and for Refugee Week this year, we worked with Southwark Refugee Communities Forum to host a football match for refugees staying in the local area.

The public conversation about refugees in the UK is heated and rife with misinformation. The reality for refugees and asylum seekers is stark: in Southwark, they are housed in four hotels across the borough, prohibited from working, and expected to live on just £9.95 a week. For people who are far from home, separated from loved ones – and in many cases dealing with trauma, grief and/or fear of returning to the life-threatening circumstances they may have left behind – it’s a difficult, uncertain and lonely state of limbo to be in. Not being allowed to work further isolates them from the communities where they are placed, as well as preventing them from earning an income (and contributing through the tax system).

In response to this, Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust got together with Southwark Refugee Communities Forum (SRCF) to find ways to support this community. Southwark has been designated a Borough of Sanctuary; that means more than simply providing a place to stay. It means welcoming, supporting and celebrating refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. And what more apt way for us to support and celebrate them than to get them on the field for a football match?

Over several weeks, the club and the Supporters’ Trust worked with SRCF to learn about what they do and the communities they support, and to organise the game. The match took place in Walworth, on one of Burgess Park’s football pitches, with t-shirts designed by the Trust, and socks, shorts, footballs and a referee sourced by the club.

After a slow start in the first half, as the players got to know each other and started to map out their strategy, the game warmed up, with the goals coming thick and fast in the second half. Man of the Match was awarded to one of the players who was instrumental in getting his team organised and working seamlessly together.

Following the match, SRCF hosted a barbecue at their offices - an opportunity for people to get to know each other further over delicious plates of food and learn more about how we can support each other.

Dulwich Hamlet also welcomed five members of the refugee community at July’s home game against Eastbourne Borough, with concession tickets provided by the Trust. This was really meaningful and unforgettable for each of them, as the first football match they got to attend in the UK.

Speaking about the new partnership, SRCF commented,

“With only £9.95 a week to live on, and no right to work, many residents face barriers to joining activities like football clubs or attending matches. That’s why this partnership with the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Trust is so valuable. It opens doors to opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach.

We look forward to growing this partnership and creating even more opportunities for residents to feel part of their community in the months ahead.”

- Eltayeb Hassan, Southwark Refugee Communities Forum

Become a Trust member here to receive our regular email newsletter and find out more about our activities in the community. And if you'd like to get more involved or offer specific help to support Southwark's refugee community, please email us at info@dhst.org.uk.

About Southwark Refugee Communities Forum

SRCF connects Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs), raising awareness about the work they do with the people they support. It organises collaborations between RCOs, volunteers and statutory bodies; creates ways for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to participate in mainstream structures; and provides resources to help RCOs develop the services they offer.

• Find out more about SRCF’s work at their website.