The Beautiful Game
Free football sessions in Hackney for asylum seekers and refugees help foster integration in the community
“Football is a universal language – it goes beyond borders. When you come to the pitch, and start to play, you forget about everything,” says Vladyslav Kysil, the football coach at Hackney’s Celtic FC Foundation. “And step-by-step you become part of the community.”
Vladyslav – or Vlad as his team calls him – is a Ukrainian refugee who escaped the war and came to live in Hackney in January 2023.
Vlad says: “In Ukraine I worked for the football club Arsenal Kharkiv for 20 years. My football career started in 1993, when I was a professional football player. Since then I’ve had many roles as manager, head coach and football agent. All my life is football.
“When I got to the UK I applied to work at so many organisations. And then I got a call from Michael Cole, Hackney Council’s Football Development Officer, and he introduced me to Celtic FC Foundation. I have been here two years now.”
Every Saturday, asylum seekers and refugees, living in Hackney, head to Shoreditch Park for a game of football. The sessions are led and funded by the Council and Celtic FC Foundation.
Hadnan Nasery, 37, from Afghanistan, has been coming to the football sessions for more than a year. Before claiming asylum in the UK, he was a lecturer at Kabul University for seven years.
Hadnan says: “I come here for many reasons. As a refugee I struggle with many things, but football makes me happy and makes me realise I can be myself. I had to leave everything behind and football is now what I have. Everyone deserves to play. For me football is not just a game, it’s a mentality.”
Jonathan Jedburgh, who’s originally from Zambia and is now the Community Sports and Project Support at Celtic FC Foundation, agrees that football is more than just a game.
He says: “You don’t have to be good at football or speak English to come here. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from – it’s a team sport. It teaches you about life.
“It’s a comfortable space for people who are waiting for their papers to be accepted. Me and coach Vlad have been there. The players see us and know we’ve been where they are.”
Vlad and Jonathan
Twizzy Vetumbuavi, 28, from Namibia, has been in London for two and a half years. He is a gifted footballer who shows off his skills on the pitch.
Twizzy says: “I grew up in a rural area in Namibia, which was full of knife crime. Football was somewhere to escape and distract myself. This team is very important because it brings people together from different backgrounds and it’s a way to exercise, socialise and share opportunities.
“I am optimistic for my future. I would like to get into football youth coaching and help refugee children.”
For Woud, 18, from South Sudan, playing football is a taste of home. He says: “I have been in London for six months now. I used to play football in Sudan with my friends. Now, we unite and make a community here.”
Tony Hamilton, Chief Executive of Celtic FC Foundation, sums up the ethos of the club. He says: “Our roots are in supporting immigrant communities – from Irish families in Glasgow to others across the globe. Today, we honour that legacy by empowering the next generation through sport, education, and opportunity.”
For more information about the refugee football programme and community development sessions, visit Hackney’s football development page.