A refugee’s dream
• Sponsorship needed to propel Osire players
From Luka Modric to Victor Moses, refugee footballers, past and present, have thrilled football fans around the globe. However, the road is often thorny for refugee talent.
Limba MupetamiWindhoek
Refugees bring many skills and talents to their communities – including to the playing fields of football, the most popular sport in the world.
At both club and national levels, refugee footballers have left their mark on the pitch and in fans’ hearts.
However, getting to that stage takes a lot of paperwork and support.
This is something that most refugees lack in Namibia.
Dashed dreams
Recently, a group of male players from the Osire refugee camp, located in arid scrubland over 200 kilometres from Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, were dropped from the Otjozondjupa regional football squad after attending trials for the recently ended Namibian Newspaper Cup.
The players in question did not have the right documentation; even though their skills allowed them to attend trials, they could not provide the necessary identity documents, and they were eventually dropped.
The players dream of showcasing their skills and perhaps, one day, playing in front of a crowd of people, just like the stars they admire and follow.
This is for a simple reason: they believe football can help to lift them out of poverty and the terrible living conditions they face in the camp.
Playing for family
Whether this will happen instantly, or gradually, is not their worry at the moment, with one player and asylum seeker, *Paul, saying he only wants to play football and take care of his family.
“I have been at Osire for years. I don’t know when I will return to my home country and if I will ever have a chance at life,” he said, donning a torn t-shirt.
Most of the players this reporter saw were dressed in worn-out shoes and frayed t-shirts.
A way out
An employee at the home affairs, safety and security ministry, Simasiku Matongo, explained that some asylum seekers are waiting for their documents to be processed in order for them to be assigned refugee status and, because of that, they might not have the right documentation at hand.
He said the only way out of camp for most of them is through sports. Simasiku said the Osire camp has about eight clubs consisting of 22 players each.
“There is so much talent ... we have football as well as volleyball and basketball teams. But they are struggling financially to compete in tournaments.
“Sometimes we take money out of our pockets to enter the teams in tournaments held in neighbouring Okakarara, Otjiwarongo or Outjo, just so that we can give hope to the players,” he said.
He added that previously, there was a sports budget because the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees funded sports.
“But around 2012–2015, they pulled out as the number of refugees was dropping. They then handed over the sports gear they had to the Ministry of Home Affairs to continue with sports upliftment at the camp, but the attire is also worn out,” explained Simasiku.
Now, he is calling for food, equipment, and attire sponsorships to provide a boost to the players at the camp.
A wish
Some of the refugees have been able to register to play for local football teams as they have passports; however, Simasiku urged clubs not to lure players to their clubs and to misuse them.
“Some clubs just want to use the players by underpaying them. These boys just take whatever they are given because it’s better than waking up every day in the camp and doing nothing,” he said.
He said the refugee players’ wish is to have a club competing against the best in the local league.
Asked if the league had made provisions for refugee players, the Namibia Football Association’s league director, Mabos Vries, said they are eligible to play football in Namibia and only need to apply to the Refugees Commissioner for permission.
The Osire refugee camp is home to refugees from Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
*Paul is a pseudonym.[email protected]
Refugees bring many skills and talents to their communities – including to the playing fields of football, the most popular sport in the world.
At both club and national levels, refugee footballers have left their mark on the pitch and in fans’ hearts.
However, getting to that stage takes a lot of paperwork and support.
This is something that most refugees lack in Namibia.
Dashed dreams
Recently, a group of male players from the Osire refugee camp, located in arid scrubland over 200 kilometres from Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, were dropped from the Otjozondjupa regional football squad after attending trials for the recently ended Namibian Newspaper Cup.
The players in question did not have the right documentation; even though their skills allowed them to attend trials, they could not provide the necessary identity documents, and they were eventually dropped.
The players dream of showcasing their skills and perhaps, one day, playing in front of a crowd of people, just like the stars they admire and follow.
This is for a simple reason: they believe football can help to lift them out of poverty and the terrible living conditions they face in the camp.
Playing for family
Whether this will happen instantly, or gradually, is not their worry at the moment, with one player and asylum seeker, *Paul, saying he only wants to play football and take care of his family.
“I have been at Osire for years. I don’t know when I will return to my home country and if I will ever have a chance at life,” he said, donning a torn t-shirt.
Most of the players this reporter saw were dressed in worn-out shoes and frayed t-shirts.
A way out
An employee at the home affairs, safety and security ministry, Simasiku Matongo, explained that some asylum seekers are waiting for their documents to be processed in order for them to be assigned refugee status and, because of that, they might not have the right documentation at hand.
He said the only way out of camp for most of them is through sports. Simasiku said the Osire camp has about eight clubs consisting of 22 players each.
“There is so much talent ... we have football as well as volleyball and basketball teams. But they are struggling financially to compete in tournaments.
“Sometimes we take money out of our pockets to enter the teams in tournaments held in neighbouring Okakarara, Otjiwarongo or Outjo, just so that we can give hope to the players,” he said.
He added that previously, there was a sports budget because the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees funded sports.
“But around 2012–2015, they pulled out as the number of refugees was dropping. They then handed over the sports gear they had to the Ministry of Home Affairs to continue with sports upliftment at the camp, but the attire is also worn out,” explained Simasiku.
Now, he is calling for food, equipment, and attire sponsorships to provide a boost to the players at the camp.
A wish
Some of the refugees have been able to register to play for local football teams as they have passports; however, Simasiku urged clubs not to lure players to their clubs and to misuse them.
“Some clubs just want to use the players by underpaying them. These boys just take whatever they are given because it’s better than waking up every day in the camp and doing nothing,” he said.
He said the refugee players’ wish is to have a club competing against the best in the local league.
Asked if the league had made provisions for refugee players, the Namibia Football Association’s league director, Mabos Vries, said they are eligible to play football in Namibia and only need to apply to the Refugees Commissioner for permission.
The Osire refugee camp is home to refugees from Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
*Paul is a pseudonym.[email protected]
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article