Football Match Closes Refugee Week

One of the 20 teams which took part in the Refugee Week tournament.

Springburn beat Sighthill A team 2-1. But the result was much better than that. For this final game was the clincher in a five-a-side football tournament during Refugee Week.

The event was held at the tennis courts in Kelvingrove Park and 20 teams of school boys from 70 different nations had a great day out despite the heavy rain.

The event brought Refugee week to a close. Organised by Operation Reclaim, it was part of an initiative tackling gang violence and attacks on asylum seekers.

By bringing together local young people with their peers who are asylum seekers and refugees, the football provides opportunities for integration in a fun way. It also reclaimed the local recreation area in Sighthill for children and young people because they played there during the early part of the tournament.

The impact of the programme in the area has been ‘massive’ with police estimating that crime and fear of crime has been cut by more than one third.