ANY football fan will likely be familiar with Italian manager Arrigo Sacchi's iconic quote that it’s “the most important of the least important things in life”.
For United Glasgow’s Anas Mammo though, it’s maybe a little bit more than that. “I think the club for me is like a family”, he told The National.
Mammo is originally from Syria and, after making his way across Europe, he arrived in Scotland in 2019 when he came across the Glasgow-based club.
It was then that he discovered United Glasgow – a team which, since 2011, has operated on a platform of diversity and financial inclusion.
A shared love
The club was created to “be an open space for people of all backgrounds”, trustee Gareth Brown told the Sunday National.
Indeed, the club has welcomed players from over 50 countries to people of all genders, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, domestic statues and economic positions.
“There’s a focus on providing football opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees that live in Glasgow”, Brown explained.
“The club has also been very vocal on LGBT+ issues and that’s part of our history. We want a space that is free from any kind of bigotry or hatred and just coming together to enjoy a game of football.”
Political climate
Giving everyone access to football is important but doing so in the current political climate seems even more important.
After all, the Home Secretary is somebody who has previously spoke of an “invasion” of migrants crossing the Channel.
Brown said: “Nobody can really put themselves in the shoe of an asylum seeker or refugee so for us to create that available space, which we have done so well despite the hostility, is something we want to continue to grow and grow.
“We have 200 players registered in a different format for the club.”
The club also does a lot of work away from the pitch, with Brown explaining they’ve done some work for Refugee Week (June 19-25) as well as regularly attending pride marches.
Mammo explained that the club helped him to settle into Scotland after he initially arrived.
“When I first came to Scotland, my English wasn’t so good. Over time, they helped me to register for a course and I’ve made a lot of friends there.”
United Glasgow also helped him obtain coaching qualifications.
The set-up
United Glasgow has players competing at various levels. The amateur team competes in the Glasgow District Sunday Football Championship.
“We play every week and it’s a strong competitive league”, Brown explains.
As well as this there is also a community team which trains every Wednesday evening and a mental health team that competes in the Scottish Mental Health Championship.
Brown added: “The other thing we have is a youth team – their training takes place in the south of Glasgow on a Tuesday and a Friday.”
Recently, the club had the opportunity to play in a friendly against Napoli United - a team based in Naples which is also comprised of refugees and asylum seekers based in Glasgow.
It provided an opportunity for the club to build a relationship with those operating on a similar platform.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t there”, Brown said.
“The team had a great time though the final result was 2-1 to Napoli. The players got great experience though, it was a mixture of the amateur and community teams.
“There was also some refugee and asylum seekers who were granted permission to travel which was important.”
Giving people access
Everything the club does is on a voluntary basis from top to bottom – that includes board members and the coaching staff.
Amid the cost of living crisis, United Glasgow is a welcome break for people who might be struggling.
“We’re not badgering people to be paying to play as such. We get a lot of grants from the SFA along with different charity bodies”, Brown explained.
“We don’t ask anything of the players. That’s really important for us with the cost of living because we have refereeing and pitch costs and we don’t have any commercial sponsorship.”
For Brown, the aim has always been to continue to build on the ethos which makes the club so important.
“I want to continue doing what we’re doing, continue letting people play football regardless of race, gender, domestic status or if they’re from the UK or Glasgow.
“It doesn’t matter what your background is. We want to put emphasis into the youth team to build a player pathway so they can move into our community or amateur team.
“We do have a women’s community sessions because we want to ensure those keep growing as well.
“There’s been a lot of challenges with the political situation and the cost of living, but we want to go ahead, keep that free football available and build on the club’s ethos.”
