Conflict, persecution, and violence from all around the world have resulted in the highest number of displaced people in history, estimated at 110 million by the UNHCR. This includes around 35 million refugees, who often live in cultures that are foreign to them. Lack of integration and understanding between refugees and host communities often result in refugees being discriminated against.
Since the 1970s, the US has been the global leader in resettling refugees, having welcomed a total of more than 3 million individuals. However, these refugees face significant challenges, such as limited opportunities to make a living, isolation within their new communities, and separation from their families back in their homeland. Once he became aware of these issues, former Wall Street advisor Adam Miles knew that he had to take action. Through his Utah-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Bridges to America, Adam connects refugees with their host communities through the power of football, more popularly known in the US as soccer, to maximize their individual potential and forge stronger communities collectively.
In the early 2000s, as the dot-com financial bubble burst, Adam was a financial advisor in Silicon Valley. The instability and uncertainty caused by this event forced him to pause and rethink how he was spending his days and he began the uncertain process of adjusting his life's trajectory. In 2004, he met a man named Joachim Fayani, a political asylee who fled for his life from the Central African Republic. His family, including six children, was left back in the CAR. Adam and he bonded over the fact that their youngest children were of the same age, and Joachim expressed his fear that he might not be able to see his family ever again.
"That was the first of several seminal moments on my journey to make the world a better place, where I just knew that I couldn't let this stand, and had to do something," Adam says. His efforts bore fruit when, about a year and a half later, Joachim and his family were finally reunited in the US.
"I witnessed a father being reunited with the daughter he hadn't seen for a couple of years. She was so young when he left that she didn't even recognize him at first. Knowing I played a small part in making this moment happen changed me, as I believe it would change anyone. For me, it felt so much better than a $100,000 payday on Wall Street," Adam says.
Adam spent his youth growing up in the diverse communities of Hawaii and California. He then served a Mormon mission in Japan, where he learned how to speak Japanese and fell in love with the country and its culture. Having played soccer as a child, Adam didn't initially see how globally impactful the sport was, but a humanitarian trip to West Africa in 2012 opened his eyes to the power soccer has to bind humans together.
Following that pivotal trip, Adam intensified his focus on humanitarian work with refugees and created two impactful programs that harness the power of soccer to make a change. In 2016, he launched Refugee Soccer to connect refugees with the mainstream community via the sport. Its model, which he had seen work in Africa, is to engage kids of diverse backgrounds through soccer. This effort promotes mutual understanding and respect through the shared and deep love of soccer. Soccer is a global language itself, overcoming communication and social barriers naturally, and promoting understanding and camaraderie between players. Furthermore, soccer provides a productive alternative to crime and other negative influences, particularly for displaced youth. The model and benefits of Refugee Soccer are concisely captured in this short documentary titled: Kick-Off of Connection.
The second program is a new initiative launched last year called #SheBelongs, which focuses on celebrating girls and women, given the unique challenges and hardships they face in life, especially those coming from more patriarchal cultures. In 2023, #SheBelongs made headlines by assembling a team of 22 refugee and non-refugee young women and heading to the Women's World Cup in New Zealand to spread a message of unity and equality. The team's journey, which also included stops in San Francisco and Tokyo, was chronicled by Adam and a British filmmaker, Joseph Sim, in a feature-length documentary. It has already been screened in San Francisco and Salt Lake City, with screenings in more cities and international film festivals coming soon.
However, #SheBelongs' journey doesn't end here. The organization continues to inspire hearts around the world with the first-ever #SheBelongs Global Cup to be held in Madrid, Spain, in 2025. The cup will feature women's teams of players from 16 to 18 years old, with a minimum of six refugee players per team. The application period will last until May 2024, followed by a months-long qualifying period to determine no fewer than four teams heading to Madrid in 2025 for the Cup.
Adam is also launching a #SheBelongs scholarship, which will support promising female refugee soccer players in their educational and living expenses, allowing them to build a successful future in their new homelands wherever they are in the world.
"#SheBelongs is a deeply personal effort for me, as I have three incredible daughters and five granddaughters," Adam says. "Every man has women and girls that are near and dear to their hearts. If we genuinely listen to them, we will understand that they're going through so many challenges and struggles, and perhaps see them in a new light. This is why empowering women through sport, especially refugees, is incredibly important. The confidence and ambition gained through this movement is life-changing for all involved."
Refugee Soccer is always keen to work with partners and allies from the business world, the soccer community, and relevant government agencies to spread the message, including high-profile exposure through the upcoming #SheBelongs Global Cup. Adam states, "We are very grateful to everybody fortheir continuing support for the success of thousands of young women around the world."
