FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT ORGANIZED FOR REFUGEES IN PRESEVO

21. March 2016.

Presevo - The tournament was organized thanks to cooperation with the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia and the Youth for Refugees, the Mercy Corps and the International Rescue Committee NGOs.

The youngsters showed the greatest interest in the tournament, but a significant number of humanitarian organizations working at the Centre, as well as the employees of the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, got involved in organizing the tournament.

There were a total of 12 teams that weren’t set up on the basis of the refugees’ countries of origin, but they were multinational, and each team had four players, because they played futsal.

“We didn’t want this to be a tournament where each country would have its own team. We wanted to promote respect, tolerance and fair play, and that's why we opted for mixed teams. The most important thing is that we make it possible for children to play again, to be children again, and to forget about the war and the war-related problems for a moment, because that is the hardest for them, "said Nabih Rihani, a cultural mediator and interpreter at the World Vision organization and one of the chief organizers of the tournament.

“This is the most wonderful day for me for the last five years, this is a celebration for all of us," said Dia Edvan, a refugee from Iraq who, along with more than 200 refugees, watched the matches from the improvised grandstand. Dija has been travelling for more than 40 days and has been in Serbia for almost two weeks.

According to the latest UNHCR data, there are currently about 2,000 refugees in Serbia. About 680 of them are at the Reception Center in Presevo, and more than two-thirds of them are women and children. This tournament was an opportunity for children to forget their suffering and to play and compete with their peers.

Source: B92, N1 and Coordination Body