- This weekend, commencing 24 April, Leicester City in the Community will mark Football Welcomes Weekend
- The event celebrates the contribution of refugees and people seeking asylum in football
- Leicester City in the Community are one of few club community organisations that run the Football Welcomes programme
- Charities including Leicester City of Sanctuary and After 18 deliver sessions alongside the Club's charitable arm
The Club’s charitable arm take pride in their work with refugees and people seeking asylum in Leicester, which culminates in April. Football Welcomes Weekend started in 2017 with football clubs all over the UK highlighting the contribution of refugees and people seeking asylum to football.
Footballers such as Dejan Lovren, Nadia Nadim and Victor Moses are just a few recent refugees who have played a part in the sport.
Leicester City in the Community are one of a handful of organisations that run the Amnesty UK-funded Football Welcomes programme, which enables them to work closely with refugees and people seeking asylum to ensure they can flourish in the city.
Sarah Jones, Leicester City in the Community’s Football Welcomes session lead, explained what Football Welcomes means: “Football Welcomes is really important to what we do at Leicester City in the Community.
“It celebrates the work we have been able to do over the whole year with our partner charities, Leicester City of Sanctuary and After 18, and the partnership with Amnesty UK. It highlights all of the good work that all of these people are doing in the community of Leicester to bring everybody together.”
Leicester City in the Community supports Football Welcomes participants at weekly Monday and Saturday football sessions, as well as drop-in sessions that have been adapted to virtual means over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leicester City of Sanctuary Coordinator, Shali Bullough, spoke of the partnership with Leicester City in the Community.
“It is a really important partnership,” she said. “It has been going on for more than four years now. I remember one participant saying that the soccercise session helped her make her feel alive.
“We are really excited now because things are opening up and there are more opportunities – we want to get new people involved and building up the group.”
Across the weekend, fans watching the Foxes' various teams will be able to see more of Leicester City in the Community’s work on the Football Welcomes programme across their social media channels, as well as in CITY Matchday Magazine.
See how the partnership between Leicester City in the Community and Leicester City of Sanctuary benefits refugees and people seeking asylum HERE.