Watch unifying power of football on display as refugees come together at the Beacon of Light

The unifying power of football was highlighted today (June 20) in a football tournament at the Beacon of Light organised by Northumbria Police and featuring teams comprising refugees currently living in Sunderland and other parts of Tyne and Wear.

As part of National Refugee week, 12 teams, including police officers and players from Young Asian Voices, Friends Of The Drop In (FODI) and the International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS), took part in the five-a-side tournament at the Beacon of Light.

Young Asian Voices manager, Kumareswaradas Ramanathas, who helped to coordinate the event, said: “Sunderland loves football and so what better way to bring people together than the unifying power of the global game. 

“Today’s event is a fantastic way for people from the refugee community to integrate together.”

Players taking part have fled from an array of life threatening situations including wars, political persecution and natural disasters in countries such as Sudan, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Egypt.

One of those taking part was Mousa Mohammed, 28, who arrived in the UK from Sudan in 2020 and has been living in the North East for the last year.

He said: “There is an ongoing war in my country and when I left I feared for my life. I’ve been made to feel welcome since arriving in England and I enjoy living in the North East.

“It’s good to feel safe and there are more opportunities here. I’m currently training to be a mechanic.

“I love to play football and the team I support is Arsenal.”

With the plight of refugees and their individual desperate circumstances often drowned out by the political mantra of how we protect our borders, Kumareswaradas was keen to emphasise the positives they can bring.

He said: “Many refugees seek sanctuary as their lives are at risk and it’s important countries such as the UK continue to welcome them.

“Each is a human being who will arrive with individual skills which can benefit this country. For instance we currently have a shortage of doctors in the NHS and we have refugees arriving who can fill this gap.”

The event was organised by Northumbria Police with police officers also taking part in the tournament.

Superintendent Scott Cowie said: "This is such a fantastic opportunity for the police service to get involved in the community, especially during National Refugee Week.

"There are teams from across Sunderland and South Tyneside and it's important for people from different and diverse communities to come together.

"Today is an opportunity for us as a police force to say we are here to help as well as play a game of football and hopefully score a few goals."