On 9th March, we were joined at our Clarets Welcome session by Burnley FC First Team players, Anass Zaroury, Ameen Al-Dakhil and Halil Dervişoğlu.
Clarets Welcome is a friendly, welcoming football session which was created to bring together young men who were displaced from Syria due to the ongoing conflict. Our doors are now open to males, over the age of sixteen, from all backgrounds who are new to the Burnley and East Lancashire area.
Faraz, one of our brilliant participants, spoke about his experience and the support he has received from BFCitC over the five years he has been attending our sessions.
Faraz focused on happiness and how these sessions have a positive impact on his and his friends lives, which really showed the impact that these sessions can have on individual members of our community.
We finished off the session with all our participants getting photographs with the players!
‘When we started the sessions five years ago, the aim was to engage families new to the east Lancashire area. That is still the aim and sessions are open and welcome to all communities. The sessions have had a profound effect on participants, who each week return, and in turn make new friendships and help integrate in the community. We want to extend our thanks to the players who came down to the session and got involved!’
Michael Colquhoun, Director of Community Projects
Sessions are every Friday morning at 10am at The Leisure Box so if you’re interested in joining our wonderful group or would like to refer a participant to the project, please contact our Social Inclusion Manager, lizzie.oconnor@burnleyfc.com
