Refugee women find relief in Greece soccer
The United Nations Refugee Agency, known as the UNHCR, says there were 76,100 pending asylum claims in Greece at the end of 2018, in a report prepared for World Refugee Day on Thursday.
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed through Greece and onto other parts of Europe in 2015 and 2016 and the country is still struggling to manage its refugee crisis using a network of camps on five Aegean Sea islands as well as the mainland. (AP)
In Greece, women from 14 countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Eritrea and Ethiopia have formed the country's first soccer team called Hestia FC. (AP)
Hestia FC was set up by the Olympic Truce Centre, a non-government organization created in 2000 by the International Olympic Committee and Greek Foreign Ministry. The team took part in the Global Goals World Cup in Denmark last month — a five-a-side international women's tournament aimed at promoting gender equality. (AP)
Many of the players at Hestia FC weren't allowed to play — or even watch — soccer matches in their home countries. (AP)
Katerina Salta, Sport for Protection Program Manager holds the Global Goals World Cup trophy as members Hestia FC Women's Refugee Soccer team applaud in Athens. (AP)
In this Thursday, May 2, 2019 photo, members Hestia FC Women's Refugee Soccer and AO Vrilission players pose for a photograph before a friendly game in Athens. (AP)
