Colchester United Football in the Community, (CUFITC), have been providing football sessions for local refugees over the past months.
These sessions have provided a fantastic opportunity for migrants to integrate into society through physical activity. Delivered in conjunction with Refugee Action Colchester and Active Essex, the programme aims to improve mental health whilst providing a fun environment for participants to socialise.
Participant Emmanuel spoke about how Refugee Football has helped him since arriving in The Country: “It helps to spin out some stressful thoughts whilst being part of the community.”
Kate Khan, Fundraising Coordinator at Refugee Action Colchester expressed the importance of the programme, saying: “A lot of people that come to us do suffer with mental health issues, social isolation and language barriers so this gives them the opportunity to really get to meet people and have fun.”
Community Development officer at Colchester United, Henry Singleton, has coached the sessions for the past few months and added: “The improvement in the groups levels of confidence have been astounding, I’ve been so impressed with everyone’s attitude over the last few months.”
