FIFA World Cup more than just football for teen Muslim refugees

It's 5.30pm at an Auckland community hall, and plates of fish and chips are brought out to a large table of hungry teenage girls.

Some are bare-headed, some wear hijabs. They tuck into the food, chatting, posing for photos on their smartphones, and enjoying each other's company.

I'm here to report on a cultural coming-together, courtesy of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Up until a few weeks ago, these Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia and other Kiwi-born teenagers had never met.

Now they've formed a social football team and played a visiting team of refugees from the United States.

For the Muslim teenagers it's opened a door to life in Aotearoa.

Dunia Zakarya, 13, has been in New Zealand for nine months. She's Syrian, but came here having spent most of her life in a Jordanian refugee camp.

"It's so fun. Like, great," she said. "I like my team."

Before joining the team, I ask her, had she met many New Zealand girls?

"No" is the answer. And I get the same reply from 17-year-old Zainab Ghaznawi, 18-year-old Zolfeia and 16-year-old Fatima – all refugees from Afghanistan.

For some, getting on any football field is a new experience.

"Before, I can't play in Afghanistan," Zainab said, explaining restrictions under Taliban authority.

"Now I am happy. Thank you for community football."

Football is clearly fun, but its benefits also stretch beyond the playing field.

“A lot of these young women are in English (ESOL) programmes at school,” explained Bella Munro, a social work manager with the Umma Trust, which helps Muslim families settle in New Zealand.

She said that means they spend most of their time with other migrant and refugee students.

“They don’t have that opportunity to connect with Kiwis,” she said.

“Sometimes it can be years that they’re in an ESOL programme before they join the mainstream.”

A group of local students have joined the team to help ease the refugee teenagers into football – and, more importantly, into friendships.

“Sometimes you can piece the sentences together,” said 12-year-old Ruby Bryson.

“We prefer socialising, but some girls go to different schools than us,” she added. “But when you go to social media it’s just amazing to be able to talk to them.”

Student Jazz Sutherland agreed.

“I’d definitely want to do it again,” she said. “We obviously like different things, but we connect really well,” the 12-year-old said.

The person who put the team together is coach Haley Gleeson, director of football at St Cuthbert's College and the creator of The Football Girls community group.

“We sat together on the first day and we talked about where everyone’s come from and what we want to get out of the experience,” she said.

They soon worked out a communication strategy.

“We talked a lot about body language, and we talked a lot about facial expressions and tone of voice,” Gleeson said.

“If your spirit is right and your attitude is set, you’re good to go.”

And that attitude, she said, is crucial.

“We’re looking for the things that we love about each other, not trying to find the things that are wrong with each other.”

The social football team tucking into a meal of fish and chips. (Source: 1News)

This meeting of cultures on the football pitch might not have happened if it wasn't for an email from Refugee Soccer, in the US, in the lead-up to the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The social impact venture was promoting their SheBelongs project, along with their football team made up of women from refugee and non-refugee backgrounds coming to New Zealand for the World Cup.

The Americans wanted to play a Kiwi refugee team, explained Munro.

The Trust contacted its network of social workers, and “there was enough of a 'yes' to go, 'OK, let’s do this'.”

One more piece of the puzzle fell into place when the Ministry of Youth Development approached the Trust offering $12,000 as part of FIFA-aligned funding aimed at getting girls involved in sport.

That money went towards footballs, boots, uniforms, and a coach. It was, Munro said, “a perfect fit".

Now, a precedent has been set.

“Now we have a backlog of girls saying, ‘Hey, we want to join, how can we be part of this?’”

The last word goes to DunZakarya.

I asked her how much playing football has helped her English.

“Yes,” she said. “I’ll give you a number.”

She pauses for a moment.

“Ninety-nine.”

We both laugh. Ninety-nine. A good mark on a language test, and great on a football scoreboard.