West Berkshire Muslim Centre tackles BAME exclusion in weekly football sessions
The West Berkshire Muslim Centre (WBMC) has started sports sessions for solidarity between different community groups.
The centre is holding weekly football matches at St Bartholomew's School in Newbury for members of the BAME community, as well as the wider community, to get integrate them through exercise.
Over recent years the group has supported refugees who have fled their home countries and joined the West Berkshire community.
Youth Volunteer Bilal Zahid said the sessions have been “a great experience”.
He said: “The weekly fitness sessions have been a really great way to meet new friends and build new relationships.
“I love how we are slowly taught new techniques and feel comfortable. There has been a very wide age range attending these sessions so I can definitely see how these are tailored for all age groups and abilities”.
The matches are an opportunity for people to meet individuals from an array of backgrounds with the centre already representing over 20 different nationalities including British, Moroccan, Bangladeshi, Zimbabwean amongst many others.
As well as football, the volunteers at the centre have introduced weekly badminton and table tennis sessions as well as fitness sessions for men and women in partnership with Newbury Crossfit.
Funded by the councils ‘Let’s get Active’ initiative, they say these sessions aim to help combat loneliness and exclusion that refugees can feel after moving somewhere new.
West Berkshire Muslim Centre trustee and executive member Umar Butt said that there has been a “real difference” in “personal wellbeing and mental health” of those who have taken part.
He said: “This is a great initiative supported by West Berkshire Council to get people physically active post the pandemic.
“We have seen a great uptake every week ranging from individuals as young as 11 through to 50-plus through to a range of cultural backgrounds which is great to see”.
Youth Volunteer Umar Qazi said: “The football sessions are a great way to meet the wider community through a sporting event, lifelong friendships have been made”.
WBMC member Hasan Ahmad said that the impact that these sessions have on people goes “well beyond the pitch”.
He added: “Football has always been a sport which has brought people together. Council funded football sessions have been a great opportunity for local Muslims to integrate with one another but also the wider Newbury community.
“Though we focus on the immediate impact after a game trying to decipher who won and who lost, the true impact of the sessions go well beyond the pitch”.
Aside from sport, there are other activities held by the Centre like mother and toddler coffee mornings and pot luck shared meals, many of which are hosted at the Riverside Community Centre in Newbury.
To find out more about all activities, visit the West Berkshire Muslim Centre Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ourWBMC