Football United was founded by Anne Bunde-Birouste in 2006 at UNSW’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Her  passion for connecting people and for football combined into a vision to assist recently arrived humanitarian refugee youth and families in their transition into Australian society. With help of similarly minded friends and community groups, Football United developed into a program that uses people’s love for football to  build opportunities for belonging, racial harmony and community cohesion.

The Football United program initially started with aims to provide connection to mainstream football for newly arrived refugee immigrants. Rapidly, however, we realised that community-based football was not responsive to their needs, with cost and transport to and from games often prohibitively expensive for these groups. In addition, sensitivity to pre-migration experiences and cultural differences was often absent in mainstream community sport. In response, Football United initiated a range of opportunities for refugee communities to play football – and through football provides opportunities for belonging and social inclusion.

Football United’s first years have evoked high enthusiasm, engaging outstanding commitment from the refugees, residents and key community groups involved. To date we have provided over 300 young people and their families with opportunities in the western and south-western areas of Sydney. Young people who have participated in the program are now registered in clubs, playing representative football, and competing as teams in local futsal competitions. Parents coach on a weekly basis, and there is a constant stream of recently arrived young people being introduced to the program by Migrant Resource Centres, Intensive English Courses and word of mouth.

Genuine partnerships with Councils, Migrant Resources Centres, Football Clubs and Associations have enabled the program to evolve over the past 2 years. We have a growing reputation, leading to many other communities around Sydney, interstate, and internationally have expressed interest in implementing our program.

We now have an opportunity to be the first program of this kind in Australia, and internationally, to proceed with a longitudinal study to assess and evaluate our impact.