Refugee Roots a local charity helping refugees build friendships and find a place to call home recently sponsored the Red Sea FC, a team largely made up of refugees whose goal is to ‘bring together sport-loving youth from all over the globe.’ The team made up of members of the refugee and migrant communities that have recently arrived to Nottingham and consider this city their second home entered the development league and proudly wear the kit sponsored by Refugee Roots.
At the game where the team premiered wearing their new kits, volunteer befriender and language teacher Dr Christopher Towers, a poet, academic and football lover who also has a particular passion for football poetry and written collections such as Hinterlands made sure he wasn’t on the bench for this game and came to experience it all.
It was an overcast but dry morning in Attenborough when The Red Sea came to the local football ground, a village green where the red ball and cricket whites appear in summer. The only relevance the ‘Red Sea’ has to the village, and it’s somewhat tenuous, is that it’s a waterway and Attenborough has experienced its share of flooding, with the ground behind a flood wall. The wall was erected after the floods of two or more decades ago. That apart, the famous river and the small village could not be further apart, in every sense. ‘Red Sea FC’, played an Attenborough Development Team in the Nottinghamshire Senior League Cup. Their team, I was told, adopted the name of the Red Sea to reflect the many nations who share the shores of the Middle Eastern waterway.
Red sea’s vibrant shirts shone brightly under the grey skies as this team, founded in 2018, made its way on to the field. There are many nations represented in the squad - Eritrea, Sudan and more. They are very open to players from other countries, not only those that sit by the Red Sea.
The players warmed up with nimble feet, dancing between cones in pass and move sequences as the kick-off approached. The ground is flanked by tall willow trees and thick hedges, and the village church can be seen with its spire overlooking the fields. Attenborough is an affluent, elegant village with a landscape in all probability very different to what these players knew, growing up in places surrounding the Red Sea. The green grass of an English village, replacing surfaces of other hues and textures.
The players of Red Sea FC will all have their stories of their journeys to these shores. I would not imagine that they envisaged that such journeys would lead them to a village green in England, playing football under moist autumnal skies
The sides kicked off, Attenborough in a ‘Chelsea’ blue and the Red Sea side looking resplendent, not only in orange shirts but black shorts and starched white socks. The Red Sea team, whose home ground is Vernon Park, the other side of the city, went a goal down quite early on and whilst they found the net in the first half, trailed 3-1 at the interval. The score seemed cruel on the Red Sea team, who were playing nicely with balls to feet, but only for a third home side goal on the stroke of the interval. Whilst winning is nice, the management stressed how joyful it is for the team to be playing in a league, and this joy seemed to spread through the team. They played with great athleticism, and I watched in awe at their speed of thought and play, moving rather quicker than I, as I crunched late autumn leaves round pitch side, looking for an angle for photos. The management of the Red Sea team stressed how much the players want to participate in the league just as they wished to participate in wider society. With their refugee status assured they are keen to play their part, all holding down jobs and bringing a richness to the country as vibrant as their shirts.
The second half saw The Red Sea team pull a goal back with a very clean strike into the Attenborough netting and I heard an Attenborough player cry ‘we are still leading’ as touches of anxiety entered the home side's mindset. And whilst white and brown benches, usually occupied by cricket lovers, lay empty, there were cries of encouragement from the dugout. Red Sea were stroking the ball around, down the middle and wide to the flanks and this cup game seemed in the balance. But Attenborough rallied to score two more goals to progress to the next round with a 5-2 final score. Red Sea had played well but the home side provided more clinical finishing even if the quality of Red Sea’s approach play was good.
The game is a learning curve and Red Sea showed grace and style in their play - but it seems there was and is a wider learning. The players of Red Sea FC will all have their stories of their journeys to these shores. I would not imagine that they envisaged that such journeys would lead them to a village green in England, playing football under moist autumnal skies, and participating in a league of teams from a midlands city. All this whilst church bells rang and cars emerged from gravel drives from houses with patios and water features. Attenborough were gracious in their victory and their coach dignified. His warmth to these newcomers to the village and country, noticeable.
Home can mean so many things, but it had resonance this day. These players were playing as the away side today but in a curious sense seemed ‘at home’ with their newly found league status and I felt ‘at home’ watching them. Attenborough may be a long way from the Red Sea itself, but these players seem bonded, unified in another country from their birth. It was exemplified by warm hugs and smiles. There was a grace and poise in their play and attitude. They are on a journey together and football is playing its part, and in this quiet village in Nottinghamshire they appeared to take another step.
Refugee Roots Charity is raising funds and giving a gift to new regular donors who sign up. Gifts to donors range from their recipe book ‘The Sharing Table’, ‘A Place to Belong Tea Towel’ and a copy of Christopher Towers’ latest collection of poems ‘Return to the Hinterlands’.
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