Unity EURO Cup: Aminata’s story
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Article summary
From playing football in secret as a young girl in Mali to becoming a referee and sports educator, Aminata Bah's journey shows how resilience and a passion for sport can open doors and help build a new life.
Article top media content
Article body
When Aminata Bah steps onto the pitch at the Unity EURO Cup in Florence, she will be celebrating more than a football tournament. Her participation marks another milestone in a journey shaped by perseverance, resilience and an unwavering love for the game.
Growing up in Mali, football quickly became her passion. But pursuing that passion was far from straightforward.
Playing in secret
As a child, Aminata would sneak away to play football in the streets with other children from her neighbourhood whenever she had the chance.
Matches were often organised spontaneously, sometimes with makeshift balls, on dusty pitches under the blazing sun or in the rain. It was football in its purest form: a source of joy, friendship and belonging.
"I played until my shoes fell apart," she recalls. "Sometimes I continued barefoot. Even when I got injured, I said nothing to my parents because I wanted to go back and play again the next day."
Inspired by Brazilian legend Marta Vieira da Silva, she was eventually given the nickname Marta by those around her.
The Unity EURO Cup
The fifth edition of the Unity EURO Cup will take place on 15 October at the Italian Football Federation's technical centre in Florence. It is more than just a football tournament – it's a celebration of our sport's power to unite communities, regardless of background. Organised by UEFA in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, teams made up of refugees and players from their host communities compete in a mixed-gender event that puts the floodlights on sport’s vital role in facilitating social inclusion.
Refusing to give up
Yet football was not considered a suitable sport for girls in her community.
Her father and wider family viewed football as a male activity. Even after being spotted by AS Mandé, one of Mali's leading women's clubs, Aminata had to hide from her family to attend training sessions.
The barriers became even greater when she was identified as a potential national team player.
"When I was selected for national team trials, my father forbade me from going," she says.
At 14, after enrolling at the Ben Omar Sy sports school, she was encouraged by her family to focus on athletics instead, in the hope that she would leave football behind.
She never did.
Taking her place at the centre of the pitch
Unable to play freely, Aminata found another way to stay involved in the sport she loved: refereeing.
It was an unusual path. At the time, very few women worked as referees, but that only strengthened her determination.
In 2017, she encouraged girls from her athletics club to join her in taking up refereeing, challenging stereotypes together.
"For me, becoming a referee was proof of my resilience," she explains. "Despite the pressure, prejudice and obstacles, nothing discouraged me. Refereeing allowed me to affirm my place at the centre of the pitch."
"Sport has been the key to my emancipation and integration. It helped me transform every challenge into strength"
A new chapter in France
A new opportunity arrived when Aminata travelled to France for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
There she connected with Kabubu, an organisation using sport as a tool for social inclusion and integration.
Through Kabubu, she was able to return to football while also building a new life. The association offered her a work-study opportunity and supported her through her sport educator degree.
"Sport has been the key to my emancipation and integration," she says.
"It helped me transform every challenge into strength and build strong connections within a new community."
A dream realised at the Unity EURO Cup
Now, Aminata is preparing to take part in her first Unity EURO Cup, a tournament organised by UEFA and UNHCR that brings together refugees and members of their host communities through football. She was selected by the FFF, in partnership with Kabubu, to join the French team for the country's fifth participation in the tournament.
For her, the event represents the culmination of years of perseverance.
"Participating in the Unity EURO Cup is a huge source of pride and the result of a long journey," she says. "It proves that dreams can overcome cultural and family barriers."
The tournament's values of unity, resilience and inclusion mirror the principles that have guided her own story.
And she hopes her experience can inspire others.
"Participating in the Unity EURO Cup is a huge source of pride and the result of a long journey."
"To all young girls and refugees: never let anyone extinguish your passion or tell you what you should become. If the path is full of obstacles or doubts, be resilient. Believe in yourself and seize every opportunity that sport offers to build your future."
That sense of belonging was also evident during the French team's recent training camp at Clairefontaine. Over two days, players trained, shared meals, took part in media activities and built friendships ahead of their trip to Florence.
For Aminata and her teammates, the camp was more than preparation for a tournament; it was another example of how football can create opportunities, strengthen communities and unite people from different backgrounds.
Ahead of the 2026 Unity EURO Cup, we are sharing the stories of refugees taking part and exploring how football has helped them build new lives