After a particularly heavy challenge, Shamil Ilqasim, a year-old Yazidi from northern Iraq, limps to the sideline with a beaming smile across his face. It makes us forget some of our problems.
I still remember my friend but I feel like Germany is my home now. But now things are getting better. Students from refugee communities attending local schools are rewarded for good behaviour with a year-long place on the course, with organisers also helping to find them jobs and university places afterwards.
As well as providing coaching and equipment, Dortmund continue to give away free tickets for their matches after famously inviting refugees to a match in , a number that was reported to have outstripped the total number of Syrians given asylum by the UK in the 18 previous months.
It allowed us to create possibilities for the refugees to integrate into German culture and the community. We want to help the people who want to stay in Germany and integrate. Around 65 training sessions involving around refugees aged between four and 30 take place in Germany every week, with as many as having gone on to play in local amateur leagues. Wolfgang Euteneuer, a former professional for VfL Bochum who now runs the Welcome to Dortmund charity that provides support to refugees in the city, believes the support of professional clubs has been hugely beneficial.
It took him several months of travelling on his own via Turkey, Greece and Serbia using whatever means necessary to reach Dortmund. Now 19, he plans to go to university next year and has been using the opportunity to brush up on his football and language skills. It was very hard to come here without my parents and learn a new language and a new culture. But this project has helped me improve my knowledge of German and make some new friends.
