Rassem Asmar from Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre pens a letter about how football is helping build communities in Western Sydney.
The passion, excitement and entertainment that flows from the game of football sees the sport breaking barriers every single day.
Football fosters connections between families in a positive and healthy environment as an avenue to engagement and integration.
The spirit of competition and fair play melds the past with the future and creates ties between different cultures, unifying the people of Western Sydney as one community.
These connections formed nurture a global sense of belonging through a collective enthusiasm cultivated by the sport.
Such bonds are vital within our refugee and migrant communities, particularly amongst our young people, that thrive when provided with opportunities to form relationships and interact with others in an impassioned atmosphere.
With the values of the modern age, the ability to increase the participation of women in the sport provides increasing opportunities of success and fairness for all.
Our partnership with the Western Sydney Wanderers and Football Federation Australia utilises the sport of football to build on community strengths and aspirations, a goal that has been at the core of the operations of Western Sydney MRC for the past thirty-nine years.
This has resulted in outcomes far greater than anticipated within our refugee and migrant communities, with increased general strengthening in social cohesion amongst families, improvement in leadership skills and stronger settlement outcomes evident.
Football offers a profound contribution to a socially inclusive society, paving the way to shared experiences that help shape the lives of the communities we serve.
Rassem Asmar
Western Sydney
Migrant Resource Centre (MRC)
