The project is called “Football connect”. Launched in 2022 within Hertha Bonn, it aims to bring together refugee children from different countries within the same team.
Once a week, these children, most of whom currently live in refugee centers, meet to train under the guidance of Salim Mehdaoui. This young educator is delighted to be at the heartœheart of this project even if the challenges are daily.
“This is of course a challenge since you have language barriers and there are new children to manage in almost every session. But it fills us with joy“, assure Salim Mehdaoui.
“We see that it brings them something, that it is good for the children and that motivates us to continue.“
Football as a vector of elementary rules
For Salim Mehdaoui, football is a universal language. If children don’t always understand his words, they understand his gestures. He also uses cards with symbols to make himself understood even better. He believes that his role is above all to provide a new framework for these children who have often experienced very difficult things and who sometimes have difficulty managing their new daily lives.
“The children get used to the rituals we have here like hello and goodbye. There are also immutable rules such as passing the ball to other children and not keeping it for yourself. So it’s not just about sport but also about social rules“, estimates the educator.
Work rewarded by the DFB
The work carried out by Salim Mehdaoui and his colleagues was praised this year by the DFB, the German Football Federation. The club won the Julius Hirsch Prize. A huge recognition according to Jörg Michael, vice-president of Hertha Bonn.
“This is a wonderful recognition for our volunteers. We feel immense pride. We try to do good around us, even in our small way.“
While the arrival of new refugees in Germany is currently seen in a negative light by part of the population, Jörg Michael hopes that other clubs will follow his example in order to support these displaced children at all costs.
