Barca seek to turn Lesbos camps into fields of dreams for child refugees

FacebookTwitterE-mailPrint

Barca seek to turn Lesbos camps into fields of dreams for child refugees

Author: Pilar Suarez | euronews.com | 28 March 2019

LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) - It may not be the Nou Camp, but the charity arm of soccer giants Barcelona has been giving child refugees living in temporary shelters on Lesbos a shot at the beautiful game.

Organisers say the soccer training sessions for children hosted at two refugee camps on the Greek island promote dialogue, respect and tolerance among the young participants, helping to easing stress and nurture friendships.

"We know we can influence them, we can help them to dream, we can show them the future," said Jordi Cardoner, vice president of Barcelona and the Barca Foundation.

Lesbos was once one of the main gateways into Europe for refugees fleeing conflict. Hundreds of thousands of refugees passed through Greece at the peak of Europe's migrant crisis in 2015 and 2016. Read more>>>