“Don’t Lose Hope”: Mohamed Touré’s Journey to the World Cup

When I was younger, I wanted to play football because it helped free my mind. I could never have imagined playing for Norwich as a refugee or potentially going to a World Cup at the age of 22.

I was born in Guinea and came to Australia with my family as a refugee. Both my parents are Liberian, that’s where they were living before they were forced to flee. When they talk about the things they went through, it lies heavily in my heart.

When I saw my parents’ reactions whenever I scored, or the smiles on their faces every time I did something well, I realised that football could become something more than just a game.

My parents are my role models and the most important influence in my journey. Football is a different world from the things they went through, but there are similar lessons you can learn from it. Resilience, hard work and never giving up.

Wearing a football jersey represents freedom. Every time I play, I play with freedom and I always remember how things could have been if we weren’t in Australia. It was the land that gave us an opportunity, that lent us a helping hand.

Being on a team with players whose families have gone through similar struggles creates a special bond. It’s something we embrace, and it helps us strive on and off the pitch. Sharing similar backgrounds to players like Awer Mabil, Thomas Deng and Nestory Irankunda makes me feel welcome. It makes me feel like I belong.

That’s why being part of the UNHCR Gamechanging team means so much. It shows that although you may start from a disadvantaged position, you can still go on to achieve something great.

Going into a tournament like the World Cup, which is watched by millions around the world, is important as it gives me a platform to share my story. I want young players watching me now to understand that if you have a passion for something, you should just go for it. There’s no limit to what human beings can achieve when they put their minds to it.

As someone from a refugee background, having kids from refugee camps looking up to me, I would like to say to them: don’t lose hope, always believe, and there will be better days.

Sports can bring communities together. When you support a team, you don’t look at race or background, you just support the team. Going to stadiums and seeing people who support me from around the world is why sports is so beautiful.

I hope players with similar stories to mine can help inspire more young people to pursue their goals, not only in the field of football, but in any area of life. I want them to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and to stay focused and keep working towards their dream.

To find out more about UNHCR’s Gamechanging team, please visit our webpage here.

Further information on UNHCR’s Sports for Protection:

UNHCR works with partners to deliver sport initiatives around the world, aiming not only to make sure young people who take part have better outcomes in life, but that their communities do too. The sport programmes implemented in refugee and displacement settings support positive growth and change for young refugees and their peers, families and the broader community. They provide a safe and supportive environment, opportunities to develop skills and confidence, and ongoing positive support from peers, coaches and other adults.

UNHCR and implementing partners are delivering multi-year sport for protection projects in more than 15 countries and directly engaging more than 70,000 people forced to flee and host communities in safe and protective sport. Our sport initiatives are implemented in refugee camps, settlements and urban settings around the world in locations such as Burkina Faso, Uganda, Kenya, Chad, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Ecuador and Mexico, to name a few. Sport for protection activities differ from one country to the next based on the needs of displaced people and host communities in these different displacement settings. However, sport for protection projects generally include providing regular access to safe and inclusive sport and play-based activities, supporting coaches, sport facilitators and physical education teachers, and providing access to protection services and rights-based awareness raising through events and tournaments. https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/our-partners/sport-partners/sport-programming