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In partnership with GlobalSport Matters at Arizona State University, Soccer Without Borders is excited to share a new mini-documentary highlighting our approach to supporting refugee youth. The film spotlights Soccer Without Borders Maryland's middle school programming in Baltimore City, and the unique role that soccer can play in building welcoming and inclusive communities. Read the release below and view the film here or on YouTube.
Soccer is the headline, but the goal is well beyond a ball into a net. This is a game that can be played with little communication, almost as if the ball is the language. For the last decade, Soccer Without Borders has taken this game and used it as a platform to assist and educate in social issues. “These children have had no control over the circumstances that led to leaving home, and no choice in where they ended up,” detailed a Huffington Post article in 2016. “From this global vantage point, it is too easy to lose sight of the individual: their hopes, dreams, talents, and potential.” For whatever the individual reason, this is where these kids are right now. Soccer Without Borders is meeting them in this alienated, fearful state with an athletic outlet, camaraderie, academic tutoring, English-as-second-language training and social advice.