The Refugee World Cup Scotland which is staged at the Toryglen Regional Football Centre on the South Side of Glasgow every summer has grown hugely and diversified greatly during the 14 years it has been running.
Just eight five-a-side teams took part when the tournament – which was set up by Abdul Bostani, the managing director of the charity Glasgow Afghan United, in 2012 - was first held.
But back in June there were no fewer than 24 seven-a-side teams, four of which were comprised entirely of women for the first time ever, involved. In total, over 250 people from more than 50 different countries were in attendance.
That was due in no small part to the welcome financial backing of commercial partners such as the Wheatley Group, Glasgow Life, the Reserve Forces and Cadets’ Association, the Celtic FC Foundation, the Rangers Charity Foundation and the SFA.
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Simita Kumar, the new SNP MSP and Equalities and International Development Minister, and Joelle Murray, the former Scotland internationalist and current Hibernian Women manager, both showed up to lend their support to a multicultural event that is a resounding success story.
Yet, has the number of refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and members of ethnic minority groups who are involved in the Scottish professional game increased significantly, even at youth level, during the time the Refugee World Cup Scotland has been in existence? Has anyone from those communities played for Scotland?
First Minister John Swinney launched The World Cup Fund, which made £500,000 available for boys and girls youth programmes, this summer and pledged £275,000 of Scottish government money to Street Soccer Scotland, the non-profit organisation which provides free drop-in sessions and off-field support for refugees and asylum seekers.
In addition, the Extra Time programme, which the SFA run in conjunction with the Scottish government, offers free activities for up to 5,000 kids from low income families before and after school and during holidays.
But the dearth of New Scots in the professional system both surprises and disappoints Refugee World Cup organiser Bostani. He is convinced the sport here, including the national team, would flourish if even more funding was made available and senior clubs targeted what he believes remains an untapped pool of talent far more than they currently do.
“I believe that diversity is a benefit to every country,” he said. “Just look at France. A lot of the players in their team at the World Cup came from refugee background. They're originally from other countries, but they grew up in France and now they're playing for the national team and scoring lots of goals.
“Players from other places have been welcomed into their side for a long time now. Zinedine Zidane’s parents came from Algeria for instance.
“I watched the Germany game against the Ivory Coast at this World Cup. Germany were losing the game. But they equalised when Nadiem Amiri, whose family come from Afghanistan, passed to Deniz Undav, whose family come from Kurdistan.
“Undav then scored an injury-time winner after receiving a pass from Felix Nmecha, whose father is from Nigeria. Their families were all refugees who arrived in Germany from another country. But now they belong to that society and are contributing to it through sport.
“I would like to see the doors to professional football clubs open to the New Scots more. Many of them are good footballers and I would l to see clubs absorb their talents. Ultimately, I think it would help the clubs to do well and Scotland to qualify for more World Cups in future if they did. I believe if clubs gathered all these talents then Scotland would only benefit in the future.”
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Karamoko Dembele, the former Celtic youth who has gone on to play for Brest in France and Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers in England, has Ivorian parents and played in the Refugee World Cup when he was a kid.
His brother Siriki, who had spells in the academies at Dundee United and Ayr United as a boy and has since featured for Grimsby Town, Peterborough United, Bournemouth, Auxerre, Birmingham City and Oxford United, took part as well.
“I can remember the Dembele boys coming along to the tournament when we started,” said Bostani. “They were so young I didn’t allow them to kick a ball. But they eventually got involved when they were old enough. They were such talented lads. Now both of them are playing in England. I think we should have them here in Scotland.
“There are lots of talented footballers among the New Scots, among ethnic minority communities. But in Scotland, we're not absorbing them. They just need a little bit of polish, a little bit of shine. For me, clubs don't give them enough of an opportunity. They would do well if they did.
“Clubs in other countries have kept the door open and welcomed them. But we don’t do that to the same extent. I don't know what the reason for this is. Is it funding? Is it down to financial issues? Is it because the SFA don't have the necessary resources? I don't know. But one thing I do know is that not enough is being done.”
There were appalling scenes in Glasgow city centre back in June when anti-immigration protestors, many of whom were clad entirely in black and were covering their faces, gathered to demonstrate in the wake of a knife attack in Belfast.
There were several violent and racist assaults against both members of the public and police officers and worshippers in a mosque were forced to lock themselves in for their safety.
Bostani, who came to Scotland in the early 2000s after fleeing from the brutal Taliban regime in his native Afghanistan, has grown concerned by the rise of right-wing rhetoric in politics in recent years.
But he has seen first hand how football has the power to both break down divisions and integrate incomers into society.
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“More and more people, including Reform UK politicians, are coming out and misinforming the public about immigration,” he said. “But we are here to show who we are. We are human beings, we are your neighbours, we live together with you and contribute to society.
“There are many different ways which we contribute to Scottish society. We are workers, doctors, nurses, midwives, engineers, drivers. We are using our skills to contribute in our own way.
“In many ways, the Refugee World Cup is a message to Scottish public - don't listen to people who want to misinform you for their own self-benefit. They are encouraging exclusion, hate and racism for their own ends. They don't care what happens to society.”
Glasgow Afghan United play in The Scottish Unity Football League, which was formed back in 2000 to “challenge racism and sectarianism” and “bring the people of the city closer together”. Bostani would like to see increased funding for the competition and more of a pathway into the professional game for their best youngsters.
“It is a league with teams made up of migrants, refugees and all different ethnicities,” said Bostani. “It was set up so that everyone had the chance to kick a ball no matter what their background. We have Scottish players and Scottish teams playing in it. It's the most diverse league in the whole of the country. There is no hostility.
“But there's not a lot of support for these sides. A lot of teams come in, do really well and then disappear after two or three years. Another issue we have is when kids have to move up to another level. That is extremely difficult. They hit a brick wall.
“Some do manage to make the step up, but many don’t. I think if clubs tapped into this talent in future and the Scotland team became more diverse they would do much better. Lots of other countries have benefitted greatly.”
