Sudden influxes of young men and women from countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan and Vietnam have resulted in ugly outbreaks of social unrest in towns and cities across Scotland this summer.
Yet, there were no masked protesters carrying “stop the boats” and “protect the children” placards, no racist attacks on innocent bystanders by Nazi-saluting far right thugs and no violent skirmishes with police officers in Methil on Thursday afternoon as dozens of visitors from displaced backgrounds descended on the Fife coastal town.
There was just joy, fun, banter, camaraderie, laughter, music, dancing and elation – not to mention rather a lot of ice cream - as Street Soccer Scotland staged their fourth and final Summer Series football tournament at New Bayview Stadium.
It was difficult for an onlooker to comprehend that those taking part in small-sided games on East Fife’s artificial pitch were living in homeless shelters, were struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism, were dealing with serious mental health issues and were asylum seekers and refugees who have faced unimaginable hardship and persecution since arriving on these shores.
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The matches, which involved males and females of all ages, nationalities, ethnicities and religions and provided a welcome if brief respite from the myriad challenges of their difficult lives, were certainly highly competitive. But, at the same time, they were played in a fantastic spirt. A rare old time was had by everyone.
The anti-immigration hostility which has been fuelled by the toxic rhetoric of political parties like Reform UK and Restore Britain as well as the populist actions and social media output of prominent extremist activists like Tommy Robinson was conspicuous by its absence.
David Duke, the Glaswegian social entrepreneur who was inspired to set up Street Soccer Scotland back in 2009 after taking part in the Homeless World Cup and who has since helped the non-profit organisation to grow and diversify enormously, was watching proceedings from a vantage point high in the main stand.
For Duke, the resounding success of the event was entirely due to the power of the beautiful game.
“Football is a global game, a global language,” he said. “This is all about creating unity and connection through football. Look out the pitch here. There aren’t just people there from all over Scotland, there are people there from all over the world.
“We've got wee guys who come from Glasgow, from Govan and the Gorbals, playing football with boys and girls who come from Ethiopia and Eritrea and they’re all high-fiving and cuddling each other.
“Nobody could care less where the guys they are playing with and against come from. They are all just enjoying the football, chatting and chilling. This is about removing the prejudice and stigma that we sometimes sadly see in modern day society.
“Mixing with those from different backgrounds on the football pitch doesn’t just benefit people from Sudan and Ethiopia, it benefits people from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.”
Mikiale Tsejay, the Glasgow team member who hails from Ethiopia, and William Wilson, a recovering alcoholic from Edinburgh who was turning out for the Leith side, both concurred wholeheartedly with Duke during a break between matches. Their appreciation for what Street Soccer Scotland has done for them was tangible as they spoke.
“I have been attending for two or three years now and I really enjoy it” said Mikiale. “I play about four times a week. It keeps me active and is good for my fitness. But they are really helpful outside of the pitch as well. It has been totally life-changing for me. They are like my Glasgow family now.”
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“Coming here has had a huge impact on my life,” said William. “Before I started Street Soccer four years ago I was a severe alcoholic. I grew up in a very difficult background, suffered abuse and didn’t get a lot of support when I was younger. So it has been massive for me.
“Before I got involved, I suffered from anxiety and never wanted to go out and meet new people. Now I find it really nice coming to these sort of tournaments and interacting with different folk. I am a volunteer now as well as a player and work with Afghan guys at Sighthill every week.”
The Street Soccer Scotland mission statement is simple and effective – they help anyone who is homeless, socially disadvantaged or experiencing isolation by offering them “hope, healing and human connection” regardless of what their origins are.
Duke and his colleagues come into contact with those from displaced backgrounds on a daily basis at the various drop-in football sessions which they run at their 20 centres across Scotland.
So he has seen first hand just how flawed the narrative about the “existential invasion” of foreign nationals placing an unbearable strain on public services, creating housing shortages, threatening national security and putting the safety of the general public at risk is.
He has also witnessed just how important football can be to individuals who are invariably eager to lift themselves out of the desperate predicament they find themselves in.
“Someone who's been displaced needs basic things when they arrive in Edinburgh, Glasgow, wherever,” he said. “They need shelter and food. But they need community as well. We all need that.
“Once you enter the football pitch, you instantly build a community around you, a support network. We have experienced and skilled staff, mental health workers and progression coordinators, who can then help with their journey. We have other organisations, recovery organisations, homelessness organisations, here today.
“Through getting to know the players, and I know a lot, but not all, of these guys personally now, you find out about the journey they've been on and you formulate a completely different view of them to that which many people sadly have.
“People mistakenly believe these guys come here on a free ticket. But very often they leave behind good jobs, the communities they have grown up in, friends, family and partners. Sometimes they have to put their life at risk to get here. There are reasons for them being here.
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“Often they come here to stay alive. We see the wars in Gaza and Ukraine on the news on television at the moment, but we don’t see the conflicts which are happening in, say, Sudan. Often they are even more dangerous. People come with a lot of trauma to a new place which is sometimes an unwelcoming place that adds fear.
“A lot of people say, ‘We’re paying for them to stay in hotels’. People think they are holed up in the Hilton. But a lot of the time the conditions they are living in are absolutely dire. If you offer them a job they will take it. But the opportunities are very limited because they aren’t allowed to do anything. That is why football is so important.
“These guys that have come here through difficult circumstances after very difficult journeys and are living in difficult circumstances. We underestimate the amount of trauma people carry.”
Duke, who was awarded an MBE six years ago for his services to football and charity, believes those who blame all of society’s ills on asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants would benefit greatly from interacting from those they demonise and would maybe revise their warped world view if they did so.
“I feel there is real value in spending time with people from different backgrounds,” he said. “There is a lot of learning in it. I grew up in Govan and didn’t experience much culture. I never went abroad. Everyone where I came from looked the same and did the same thing.
“That's the case in quite a lot of Scottish communities. People can't afford to go on holiday and have the sort of rich cultural experience which gives you an open mind when it comes to engaging with other people who look different and speak differently.
“Immigration is a complex issue. Everyone has their own reason for supporting different views. But I genuinely think if you immerse yourself in a different culture and have different experiences then you come away with a far greater understanding of things.”
Duke added, “But the other part of this for me is communication. You can only take in what you're fed. If certain narratives are being pushed which blame issues like, say, NHS waiting times, on immigration then people will unfortunately believe that.
“It is actually nothing to do with immigration, which has been around for hundreds of years, it is to do with underfunding and oversupply. It is the system which is broken. It is quite sad for me because judgement is being passed on the back of certain factions which are spinning certain messages.
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“It's actually not down to individuals, it's down to systems. The world is in crisis just now. The fact that people have to come here tells you a lot about the United Kingdom and United States cutting overseas aid budgets. That is the bigger issue for me. As I say, I think people in power could perhaps do better in terms of communication.
“I understand people who question certain things. But everybody needs a chance. I was homeless for three and a half years and people looked after me. I was given opportunities when I was at my lowest. The greatest thing you can do in life is help somebody you've never met or don't know.
“We are in a much better place when we see our differences as our strengths. We're all part of the same planet. Everybody deserves an opportunity to be happy and to feel safe. You need to create the platform for people to integrate. They just need something to be part of.”
Duke and his colleagues at Street Soccer Scotland, whose benefactors include Sir Alex Ferguson and Andy Robertson, are more concerned with helping the players who come through their doors to address and overcome the challenges they face in their daily lives than becoming professional footballers one day.
However, he is convinced the game in Scotland, and ultimately the national side, would prosper if clubs tried to tap into the talent that exists among the asylum seeker, refugee and migrant communities in the same way that other major football countries have so successfully.
“It's all about opportunity,” he said. “The ability and ambition is there, they just need the opportunity. I think something like 75 per cent of the players in the England starting line-up in the World Cup semi-final had immigration as part of their heritage, be it Guinean, Jamaican, Irish, whatever. I think Scotland will be like that one day.
“But we have other things to deal with at Street Soccer. One of my coaches in Fife told me last week that three of the players he manages have lost their accommodation. If they weren’t involved in with us they would be forced to navigate a complicated system and sort it out themselves. What we do is not just about kicking a ball.
“The coaches we have are really good with the players. They get to know them, find out about their background and the challenges they have. They develop a relationship and have an empathy for what they are dealing with. We always try and help somebody in need.
“It can make a real difference to them. It is their safe community. Football has shown for over 100 years that even in the toughest of times it has the power to unite people.”
