Refugees Welcome: Football fans and community in Europe

This project developed two workshops addressing how grassroots football clubs and fan groups can build support networks for refugees.

The first workshop was held in Paris with the fan-led organisation Football Supporters Europe and discussed best practices from across Europe, including groups who have worked with refugees. The second showcase workshop was held in Brighton to focus on how fans can help integrate refugees into communities.

Football fans are the focus as they are often one of the first places where socially negative attitudes emerge. Football has been shown to be an excellent way to integrate refugees (Tuastad 1997; Sugden 2008; 2010; Gasser & Levinsen 2010). Fans are one of the first pan-European movements collectively addressing the refugee issue. The programme brought together fan groups, academics, policymakers, refugees and civil society groups to discuss the current situation, disseminate ideas and strategies, and then produce toolkits for use by fan groups, refugees, UEFA (European football federation) and national federations.

This research aimed to:

> understand how fans can support refugees through fandom, activism and practical support
> outline best practice for federations and clubs working with refugees
promote the role of football and football fans in engaging with refugee communities.

The two events reinforced that addressing the refugee crisis requires a holistic approach, with different groups playing a part. The public event hosted at Brighton was an opportunity to share understanding about the ways in which sport, and football in particular, can play a part in helping to support refugees globally.

Bringing together non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers, academics, fans, grassroots organisations and policymakers, it brought together different interests, both from practice and research. Through dissemination and discussion, it is hoped that we contribute to the debate about what works and influence policymaking in this field.

Caroline Lucas MP pledged to use the policy briefings which emerge from this work and Lord Bassam and Councillor Anne Jones CBE from West Sussex Council also voiced their support for the aims of the event.

With many organisations identifying partnerships as being key to co-ordinating skills, this event enabled the creation of new networks and opportunities to work together.

During the two workshops, fan groups met, shared best practice and highlighted some of the structural issues affecting volunteers helping refugees on the ground. On the day following the event, football fans at non-league Whitehawk FC held a 'Refugees Welcome' day during their match against St Albans in the FA Trophy, showing the positive and unifying aspect of football which was the theme of the project.

Invitation to showcase the project

The British Academy annual soirée showcases the best of the ideas and research that the British Academy provides. Talks by British Academy fellows, such as Baroness Helena Kennedy, Onora O'Neill and John Curtice, took place alongside posters of successful research projects.

Mark Doidge was invited to showcase this work on football and refugees thanks to his British Academy Rising Stars award. To coincide with World Refugee Day, the British Academy also published a blog post by Mark on the project.