World Refugee Day — Football Case Study

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Dispatch: a series dedicated to immersive storytelling, where our photographers and writers journey to chosen places, combining evocative imagery with long-form editorials to uncover and share unique football cultures.

On World Refugee Day, The World Cup Inspires

WORDS Fay Harvey
PHOTOGRAPHY Jinane Ennasri, Oussama Haddadi, Jason Zamora
June 20 2026

A look around the various rosters at this year’s World Cup will ring true to a specific theme: this year, dual-national, diaspora communities are put on full display, and are done so with great pride.

In a recent article from The Observer, writer Rory Smith showed that nearly a quarter of players at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are representing a place other than the land of their birth: 16 members of Haiti’s squad were identified as second-generation emigrants, and Morocco has over 15 players who were born elsewhere in their squad, to name a few. Only nine teams have squads made up entirely of players born within their borders.

The tournament being hosted in North America, and particularly in our modern day United States, is a fascinating, almost poetic moment to have this myriad of nationalities and identities blending together, from the nations visiting, to the communities showing out to embrace their homelands.

In an era where this nation’s leaders contest rights such as birthright citizenship — the same constitutional right that allows someone like Folarin Balogun to secure a brace in the US Home Opener of this year’s tournament — and enforce costly travel bond fees — restricting Cabo Verde’s keeper Vozhina’s own mother from being in attendance for his stunning clean sheet against Spain last week — this display of cultural excellence and a sense of belonging on the pitch can be seen as the greatest protest there is to the times that be.

Additionally, this intertwining of culture and acceptance that the World Cup spotlights is laid beautifully on top of that same host nation: a country that, for all of its faults, houses a melting pot of culture, coexistence, and can still twinkle as a destination for new beginnings.

With over a quarter of California’s population being foreign born, and over 40 percent of the population in the NY Metro Area identifying as immigrants, the US’ major metropolitan coastal areas house communities of individuals seeking belonging and opportunity, where there is a shared, unified goal of obtaining safety, peace, and importantly, chance.

The current state of our nation’s leadership juxtaposed with this level of stardom immigrants are reaching on a global footballing platform, allows for a heightened sense of hope and catharsis, especially for the youth looking up at their TV screens seeing adults who were once those same children, existing in situations they hoped to escape.

Football for marginalized communities, always, but especially during the World Cup, is more than just a game, it is a symbol of possibility.

In New Jersey, a state with the second largest share of foreign-born residents, this hope shines bright for one community in particular: the Refugee community.

June 20 is internationaly recognuzed as World Refugee Day.

Refugees are defined as individuals who have fled their home country due to war, persecution, or political upheaval. Some eventually return when it’s safe to do so, while others stay in temporary refugee settlements or integrate into nearby countries offering asylum, while a tiny fraction—usually one percent or less—resettle in a third country, such as the United States.

For Refugees in New Jersey, such as 20-year-old Jamil Syed in Jersey City, resettling doesn’t come easy, at least not at first.

It was 2 A.M., in 2021 when Jamil and his family packed their bags in less than an hour to leave Afghanistan: the nation he had called home for the last decade-and-a-half of his life, the only home he knew.

With a backpack and enough clothes to last him two days, Jamil and his family went on the months-long journey of seeking refuge in the United States after the Taliban had regained power in Afghanistan. Because Jamil’s father had worked with the Army Corps of Engineering performing construction for the US and Afghanistan military bases for eight years until 2012, the country was no longer safe for him and his family to live in as the Taliban began targeting any individuals who had done work with the US government.

From Kabul to Qatar, where they stayed in a 26-day temporary housing solution, Jamil and his family were soaring through the unknown. At just 15, Jamil begun helping his father apply for visas and fill out the proper paperwork that would set them up for success when they arrived in the US. Simultaneously, he was acting as translator for his family through the whole process, advocating for his loved ones at every step of the way.

Jamil Syed by Jason Zamora

After almost a month in Qatar, a stopver in Bulgaria and then Philadelphia, Jamil and his family landed in Texas, where they remained in limbo yet again—this time for three months in shared tents. Braving the El Paso nightly chill and the language barriers around him, Jamil learned a lot about resilience in these moments as he and his family prepared for their last destination of New Jersey where an uncle of his resided.

After two months and some change in a New Jersey hotel, Jamil and his family’s caseworker from the IRC set them up in an apartment filled with furniture, clothes, and food in Jersey City. On first impression, Jamil and his family were not fans of the area and requested a change.

“They were like, ‘Okay, you know what? We want you guys to go there right now because we already have it set up. Once you guys settle over there, after six months, you guys can change it,’ so we said, "Okay, we’ll do that,” Jamil explained.

But after some time, and now five years later, Jamil and his family happily reside in the same apartment.

“We got used to the city, and now I love it to the point that I don't want to leave anymore. I want to stay here forever,” Jamil shared, adding that first impressions of the area and the surrounding area of New York City don't do the area justice, “You have to really live it to understand,” he says.

While Jamil gave solace to his family through their initial travels across various borders and into the US when they first arrived in Jersey City, Jamil and his family were immediately introduced to Welcome Home, a volunteer-run, community-based organization that provides additional services to Refugee families. Where resettlement agencies, such as the IRC, provide housing and local benefits, Welcome Home steps in as a cultural bridge, a cushion to ease adjustment and ensure that families are supported emotionally, as well as handled in emergencies such as paying off utilities or providing temporary housing.

Upon settling into New Jersey, Jamil and his family were invited to Welcome Home programming, specifically weekly “Fun Clubs” where there are a range of enrichment opportunities for Refugees, both young and old, to join with staff to have dinner, practice English, get help with homework, play sports, and find assistance filling out forms and applications.

While attending the first Fun Club, Jamil’s mom was stunned to finally hear their native language being spoken back to them. After this initial spark, that sense of community was immediately cemented and Jamil’s parents were able to relate to others’ experiences, getting rid of the sense of solitude, nurturing the feeling of understanding. Since then, Jamil’s family still attends weekly, where his little brother, sisters, and mom are able to stay involved with the community through friends and activity.

Jennifer Moranchel, a five-year volunteer with Welcome Home, says that these Fun Clubs are where this community really comes together. And the strongest catalyst for staff? Empathy.

“I’m very passionate about working with immigrants and refugees. My parents are immigrants, they came here undocumented as well. It was a long pathway to residency, and then my dad's still working on that citizenship part. So it's a journey,” she detailed. “We connect a lot with the families. We kind of see ourselves in their families, and we just try to find ways to build community.”

Jackie Zapata by Jason Zamora

But since the start of 2025, Welcome Home’s messaging has become increasingly more important.

Jackie Zapata, a New Jersey-born professional with Colombian-Peruvian roots, has been working in the immigration space for over a decade, and volunteers at Welcome Home as a program specialist. She explained to me that since the presidential election, the amount of refugees that are coming through to the US has decreased significantly, leaving the organization to shift its top priorities.

According to the IRC, since 2025, refugee resettlement has been suspended, the lowest refugee admissions cap ever was set and new travel bans have been implemented. Simultaneously, support systems that help refugees rebuild their lives and contribute to their new communities across the U.S. have been eliminated, while refugees who have already passed intensive vetting procedures are being subjected to detention and the re-determination of their refugee status. Compiled, this is leaving Refugees around the US isolated, lost, and disillusioned.

“At one point our focus was really emergency resettlement, but now, we have kind of shifted gears and we're kind of more in a stage that we're calling ‘belonging,’” Jackie explained. “Everything that you hear that tells our friends that they need to go home and that they do not belong, our job is making sure that they know that they do belong here and making sure that they feel safe.”

To aid in this messaging, the community surrounding Welcome Home has stepped up in more ways than one, but one specific way is particularly timely and true to the region of New Jersey; and that is through the beautiful game.

Ruba Sbeah, a first-generation Palestinian-American who was raised in New Jersey, had been trying to get involved with Welcome Home for a whole year after a friend of hers began volunteering on the grants side. As a leader in the sports media world with 15 years of experience in the field, the timing hadn’t lined up in years past to act on a proper collaboration. But thanks to her current role at Major League Soccer as Senior Brand Director, the time finally came to give back in the way she wanted.

“Two years ago, I thought, hey, you know, at the very least I can probably get soccer tickets...and connect these families to this sport - the universal language and unifier,” Ruba remembered. “They're obviously new to this country… but the one thing we all have in common is football. So I figured, maybe this could be an acclamation tool for the families in addition to all the services Welcome Home already provides. The goal is to focus joy and belonging through football.”

Since then, Ruba and the Welcome Home team has helped get 35 families access to moments such as attending New York Red Bull matches in person, bringing the community closer together through shared moments of joy and understanding. And that same tone of empathy shines through as Ruba explained her passion for ensuring that as we work to extend the game to our youth, girls are included in these moments of shared experiences and development. Reflecting on her own culture, she acknowledges that the places where these young girls come from, they may not always be encouraged to play sports. She wants to change that stigma.

“I was even talking to a friend who grew up in Mexico or my cousin who was raised in a Portuguese household, they grew up with the perception that sports was for boys. So that's also something that really means a lot to me is building and empowering these kids and especially the girls through soccer.”

When Ruba attended a Fun Club last month, she admired the rawness and realness she saw in the young children as they played barefoot and used bags as goals. To the community, it’s these settings in New Jersey where less is more, and where real talent and connection can prosper to grow the game in their own backyards.

But the fun hasn’t ended on Monday Evenings.

After discussions with the NYNJ FIFA World Cup Host Committee, Ruba was able to secure access for 20 kids to attend a Morocco National Team training in New Jersey earlier this month prior to the tournament’s commencement.

Kids of all ages and adults from the community joined at the Pingry School to watch the Atlas Lions prepare to begin their 2026 summer campaign. Under the sun, the blended, multi-cultural community sat to watch the football flow—a sight that was the epitome of New Jersey.

On this specific day, Jamil had only a few hours to rush home after his 7AM–3PM shift to make the meet up point to hop in the shared van and head to Pingry. But when he arrived, it was all worth it for a singular experience which he described as “surreal,” as he watched his favorite players prepare for a summer of football.

The symbolism of this afternoon was written in the stars. As the Moroccan National Team, which has a blended, dual-national roster, dazzled for the New Jersey crowd, a symbolism of united diversity, it was nothing short of special. As the sun beamed down on the players, the children in the audience grasped that adults, just like them, who come from mixed, unique backgrounds, build and shape the sport that nurtures their experiences adjusting to this new nation.

It was just a few days later where Jamil got the chance to attend a friendly between Morocco and Norway at MetLife Stadium, just a city over from him.

Jamil painted the picture anyone familiar with the Moroccan national team can imagine: Moroccans cheered at the top of their lungs when their men got the ball, shaking the stadium and adding to the familial unity within the stadium’s structure. It was his first time seeing this many Moroccan people in one place, but for 90 minutes, he felt completely a part of their culture, citing that players such as Bounou and Bouaddi added to that passion of being born somewhere else, but still identifying as Moroccan.

“I'm not from the US, but I live here, I count as a citizen, and then I support the US, so [the World Cup] really gives you a second home experience,” Jamil reflected.

“And then the community that comes together is amazing. Back in Afghanistan I've never met someone not Afghan, you know what I mean? But over here, I've met people from places that I have never imagined I would be meeting someone from.”

Prior to kickoff for the friendly Jamil ran into a Norwegian sporting this year’s kit that features the nation’s bright red flag, leaving it hard to miss. To his knowledge, he had never met someone from the Scandinavian country prior.

“The moment I walked in, she looked at me, she smiled like, ‘Yeah, we have a fight today.’ She started laughing, and I said, ‘Good luck,” Jamil recalled. “[These experiences] give you hope being in this place that you wanted to be and at the same time you worked for. I feel like all the struggles that I went through in the past 5 years or that first year that I came to the US was worth it.”

During a recent Fun Club, as the children gathered to draw with chalk, dribble back and forth, and catch up on the latest, we asked Ruba, who had made these moments of football possible, what she would like people visiting the US for the tournament to know about the same city she aims to nurture every day.

She paused to reflect, and then said:

“There are so many communities around this nation like [New Jersey’s] that don’t represent some of the administration’s morals and actions that they’ve taken. It’s important for our community to shine, to show that we have diversity, that we are a community that fosters belonging. We are a place where all are welcome.

American soccer exists, we have our own culture, but it’s built by immigrant families, just like what this nation is built on. We all have our own flavors, from the MENA to LATAM regions, and that impacts how we approach the game. Across the nation, you’ll see it come up in different ways.”

As she spoke, the birds chirped behind her like a symphonic reminder of life, a reminder of the calming environment that withholds this next generation of leaders who, like Ruba and Jamil, will strive to create safe spaces for their community around the nation. And first, they’ll do it through football. —

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