Football Supporters Europe continues to collect much-needed donations through its #secondfanshirt campaign.
Supporters donate team shirts, which are then sold on online, and the funds collected are then donated to fan-led campaigns welcoming refugees to Europe. This month the FSE Committee decided to make contributions of 1000 euros each to two groups from Austria and Scotland.
The first is „Kicken ohne Grenzen” from Vienna / Austria, which is a project working with both men and women refugees offering them an opportunity to play football and join free training sessions. It allows young refugees a chance to receive advice and guidance from mentors and has successfully built a network with a growing number of players and clubs involved. Around 60 young people will benefit from this project, which has been running since September 2015 and is also backed by FSE -members at Wiener Sportklub and First Vienna FC 1894.
The second project is United Glasgow FC, based in Scotland. With individuals from over 40 different countries involved, United Glasgow will use the donation to hire venues, providing equipment and training facilities for their teams. Run entirely by volunteers from Glasgow’s football supporting community, the club encourages refugees and asylum seekers to meet others and play football in an environment free from discrimination.
Welcoming the continued efforts of football supporters to aid refugees, Mark Doidge, the Director of FSE´s Anti-Discrimination Division (ADD) said: “This shows how football can bring people together to challenge discrimination and prejudice against the most vulnerable in society and I would urge fans to continue to support our campaign.”