More than a game
How soccer changes lives.
Photo: © UNHCR/Samuel Otieno
Photo: © UNHCR/Samuel Otieno
As Canada co-hosts the FIFA World Cup 26™, we celebrate the power of soccer not just to entertain, but to unite, inspire and create communities where refugees and newcomers feel at home.
Whether you call it soccer or football, it’s much more than a game for refugees.
It offers hope and a sense of belonging in their new communities. It bridges cultures, fosters connection, and gives young refugees a space where their strength and resilience can shine.
Across Canada, refugees are connecting with their communities and building new lives through the power of sport.
“Football is more than a game to me.
It gives me hope, gives me a sense of freedom, gives me a sense of belonging. Every time I step on the pitch, I feel free.”
— Alphonso Davies, captain of the Canada Men’s National team
A bridge to belonging
Since the 1980s, more than 1.5 million refugees have settled in Canada. With soccer now the country’s most-played sport, it offers a powerful link between cultures and a meaningful way for newcomers to feel at home.
For many refugee children and youth, soccer is more than a game. It provides structure, builds confidence, and creates a safe, inclusive space to connect with others. Through sport, young people develop friendships, strengthen their sense of belonging, and begin to rebuild their lives.
“It’s amazing to see how something as simple as soccer brings people together.”
Over the past year, UNHCR has been speaking with refugee youth, coaches and community organizers who shared how sports, and soccer, can support belonging, resilience, and inclusion for newcomers in Canada.
FIFA World Cup 26™
Across refugee settlements around the world, you’ll find kids kicking a ball, debating players, and dreaming of the big stage. In Canada, the sport offers newcomers more than exercise or excitement, it promotes well-being and a fun way to be part of their new community.
With the World Cup coming to Toronto and Vancouver in 2026, we’re eager to share how soccer can help bring us together. In this space, we will:
- Highlight the strength and resilience of refugee athletes, coaches and volunteers
- Showcase communities supporting refugee inclusion through sport
- Celebrate soccer’s global power to unite us
- Connect newcomers with the World Cup spirit
- Inspire refugee youth to dream big
- Advocate and raise vital funds for displaced people worldwide
Be part of our team supporting refugees worldwide.
A bridge to belonging
Since the 1980s, more than 1.5 million refugees have settled in Canada. With soccer now the country’s most-played sport, it offers a powerful link between cultures and a meaningful way for newcomers to feel at home.
For many refugee children and youth, soccer is more than a game. It provides structure, builds confidence, and creates a safe, inclusive space to connect with others. Through sport, young people develop friendships, strengthen their sense of belonging, and begin to rebuild their lives.
Over the past year, UNHCR has been speaking with refugee youth, coaches and community organizers who shared how sports, and soccer, can support belonging, resilience, and inclusion for newcomers in Canada.
Partner with us
We’re eager to work with a variety of partners in Canada to help us highlight the power of soccer to support refugees and bring communities together.
If you know someone who deserves to be featured or are interested in partnering with us, please let us know by contacting Zeba Tasci.
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Gamechanging Team: From uprooted to unstoppable
As part of UNHCR’s global More Than a Game campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the UNHCR Gamechanging Team brings together players whose lives have been shaped by displacement, resilience and hope.
Captained by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies, the Gamechanging Team is a powerful reminder of the resilience, talent and determination of people forced to flee their homes. Made up of refugee athletes and players with refugee backgrounds, the team highlights how sport can create connection, opportunity and hope in the face of displacement.
Inspired by Davies’ own journey from a refugee camp in Ghana to the world stage, the initiative encourages fans and communities to see refugees not for the challenges they have faced, but for the extraordinary potential they carry. Through football, the Gamechanging Team is helping to inspire a new generation to believe that, with support and opportunity, anything is possible.
The team is also being portrayed in an artwork by Canadian sports artist and human rights activist Carling Jackson, to be released later this month. The piece depicts the team in a pre-game line-up with their younger selves standing in front of them, visually capturing the journeys that have shaped each player.
“Painting the Gamechanging Team was deeply personal for me. Each player’s story reflects how displacement can shape a life and how soccer can change it,” Jackson said. “Through this artwork, I wanted to honour their journeys and reflect soccer’s power to transform lives, inspire resilience and remind young refugees everywhere that they are not alone.”
What does More Than a Game mean to you?
We’re eager to hear from partners across Canada. Are you highlighting the power of soccer to support refugees? How is your community coming together? Do you have an inspiring story to share?
Please let us know by contacting Zeba Tasci.