Football united in Manchester

Breaking down prejudices
The Unity Cup festival, which aimed to break down prejudices towards asylum-seekers and refugees, was organised by the English anti-racism body 'Kick It Out' – a close partner of the pan-European network Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), which itself is working in close co-operation with UEFA in a concerted campaign to eliminate the evil of racism from football.

Celebrities and footballers
Over 200 asylum seekers and refugees from 14 towns and cities came to Manchester. The competition saw a plethora of celebrities and footballers attend to offer their support to the cause of asylum seekers and refugees, including Gordon Taylor of England's Professional Footballers Association, and Manchester United FC and England defender Wes Brown.

Foé award
The Marc-Vivien Foé Award, named in honour of the Manchester City FC and Cameroon midfield player who tragically died on a football pitch earlier this summer, was presented to The Brothers team from Norwich by Marie Louise Foé, wife of Marc, in recognition of consistent fair play from the Albanian, Iraqi Kurd and Algerian team.

Problems faced
Many at the festival spoke privately of the problems they faced in the flight from their countries of origin, nations wealthy in natural resources but where internal strife, corruption and poverty prevail. Young refugee Desbon Bushiri, a young refugee to Britain from Burundi, spoke publicly on Saturday of playing for English first-division club Sheffield United FC's reserves as an asylum seeker while living on vouchers, trying to reconcile the life of a hungry asylum seeker with that of an athlete.

Emotional day
B. Michel from the Le Camer team echoed the feelings of many of those present when he spoke from the winners' podium. "As Cameroonians, it's a very emotional day for us, we welcome Marie-Louise Foé, as we remember our friend and fellow footballer Marc-Vivien Foé.

Difficult times
"These are difficult times for those of us labelled as asylum seekers and refugees. It is important we stand strong against the negative images of us, and the treatment we are subjected to by the authorities. We all face problems each day, with jobs, money, and other worries, but football is the one thing brings us together and allows us to be one."