This year marks seven years of Amnesty International’s Football Welcomes campaign and London FA, alongside hundreds of clubs, have signed up to continue efforts to welcome refugees and people seeking asylum.

Football Welcomes plays an important role in helping to settle people who have fled conflict and persecution into a new culture, to make friends, learn the language and get to know the local area.

Each year, Football Welcomes celebrates the role football can play in bringing people together.

To show their support for people seeking asylum, participating clubs have hosted a range of football-based events including training sessions, matches or stadium tours for refugees.

Some clubs are incorporating learning about refugee rights in their work with schools, while others are helping to raise awareness online.

Sandy Abi-Elias, Amnesty International UK’s Women’s Football Officer, said:

“It’s important to remember people seeking asylum in the UK are real people many of whom have already faced unimaginable harms and we must do all we can to support them, not demonise them. This is what Football Welcomes is all about.

“No matter what, Amnesty will continue to welcome refugees alongside football clubs across the country to show there is more that unites us than divides us.

“Football Welcomes is made possible thanks to an award from Postcode Justice Trust.”