A first Premier League club in England has signed up for ‘Fair Shot’, the campaign which aims to unite a movement of football fans across the country towards a goal of fairness and compassion for everyone, no matter where they come from.
Wolves will join Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United in hosting a friendly 5-a-side match and other challenges for fans and Fair Shot FC, a team of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Fair Shot FC is a football squad made up of players from Afghanistan, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria and The Gambia who have fled to the UK due to war and/or persecution in their home countries. They have come together through their shared love of football, the common language it provides and the positive impact playing it has on their lives.
Tom Warren, senior manager at Wolves Foundation, said: “The support of our fans is vital to our work within the community, making it a more accepting and cohesive place for everyone.
UNDERSTANDING
“We are delighted to be part of the Fair Shot movement and look forward to hosting a game next season with the amazing Fair Shot FC and our fans, with the hope that it brings not only a day of fun, but an opportunity to create connections and mutual understanding.
“We know the power football has to transcend borders and bring people together on and off the pitch. Everyone should have the chance to play and enjoy the beautiful game, in the same way everyone deserves the right to be treated with kindness and compassion. We at Wolves, and our fans, strongly believe in that.”
As the new Premier League season kicks off, Wolves will launch a competition for fans to have the chance to train and play side by side with Fair Shot FC in and friendly 5-a-side match and penalty shootout at its Compton Park training ground.
CONNECTIONS
These matches will give the fans and players from Fair Shot FC the opportunity to share their passion for football and engage in conversations that inform understanding and create connections, highlighting that within the football community there is far more that unites than divides.
The players for Fair Shot FC have been selected from Refugee Council’s Youth Connect project and grassroots organisations who run football programmes across Essex, Surrey and Preston. They will be led by coach, David Simmons, who runs Changing Lives FC.
He commented: “Football is the world's game. In changing rooms up and down the country multiple languages will be spoken, with players from different countries and with different backgrounds. Each player in our Fair Shot squad has had to overcome many challenges, finding themselves away from their homes, sometimes without their families, in order to find safety. Football has helped them rebuild their lives here, bringing them friendships, a sense of joy and belonging.
“We hope that with Fair Shot we can use the power of football and the shared fan experience to show that there is far more that unites us than divides.”
