A Place to Call Home Winter Appeal: Roman Kemp joins the refugee team at Fair Shot

Evening Standard

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00:00Hey, how's it going? My name is Roman Kemp and some of you may know but some of you don't

00:07that I love football. It is my first love and that is why I wanted to come down today

00:14to see a project that Sport Relief have got behind.

00:18Fair Shot is a football movement uniting fans across the country towards a goal of fairness

00:24and compassion for all. This season, Fair Shot FC, a squad made up of refugees and

00:30people seeking asylum, will be teaming up with fans from some of the biggest clubs around

00:35the country.

00:38How's it going, my man? I'm Roman, nice to meet you.

00:40I'm David, I'm the head coach for Fair Shot FC.

00:42One of the things that I always think football brings to me is that feeling of being a part

00:47of something. There's a constant in my life, somewhere I can always go to that I feel comfortable

00:51in. Is that something that the lads have felt with you guys?

00:54Yeah, definitely. They've come from such tough backgrounds and they deserve to play football

00:59no matter where they come from. These boys have built up a relationship, that belonging,

01:03being part of something and that's what football does.

01:06So go on then, work me through it. What are the drills we're looking at here?

01:08Right, Roman, I want you centred back for me. Five-a-side, nice and loud and physical.

01:14So here's your shirt. You look like you fit well in purple.

01:17Alright, here we go. I'll put my boots on.

01:22Diego, how are you? I'm good, I'm good. Very excited today.

01:30Do you agree that in this country you can see that we absolutely love football?

01:34Yeah, definitely. You can go everywhere and you're going to find a pitch.

01:41I started when I was nine years old. After that I just continued, continued. I played

01:46professionally in my country.

01:49Growing up in Ukraine, has football always been a part of your life?

01:53Yes, especially at the age of five. You just can't explain it. When you love something,

01:59you just feel it, you just love it.

02:03For someone that is seeking asylum, how important are things like this?

02:09I was born in El Salvador. We don't have these kinds of opportunities in our country.

02:13They chose me so I'm very glad to be here.

02:16Do you think it gives you almost a sense of purpose?

02:19Yeah, yeah. Because I was born in a country, everything was difficult. And the only thing

02:23that makes me powerful is football. I met new people, friendly, and everything was very

02:29good for me.

02:30Being here, it's great because I feel safe. It's a great time for them, so they don't

02:35think about things that are going on in their lives. They just smile, they just play.

02:41We're all from different countries, different cultures, but to know them, to see them smiling,

02:47it's nice.

02:49You're going to be playing some big matches. How excited are you?

02:52Very excited because I saw that we're going to go to Preston, I think.

02:56Yeah.

02:57Wolverhampton. So it's a good experience for me, you know, because it's a big stadium,

03:01big history.

03:02Exactly.

03:04I'm having the most important question of all. What football team do you support?

03:08Real Madrid.

03:09I support Real Madrid.

03:10Arsenal.

03:11Yes! Right, let's go!

03:15Well, that was so much fun. Instantly, as soon as you're on that pitch, it's not about

03:21where anyone's from or what their background is, because you're one and you are this community

03:26that's out there playing together and you can see it. You can see the smiles on everyone's

03:30faces.

03:31It's great.

03:32It's great.

03:33It's great.

03:34It's great.

03:35It's great.

03:36It's great.

03:37It's great.

03:38It's great.

03:39It's great.

03:40It's great.

03:41It's great.

03:42It's great.

03:43You can see the smiles on everyone's faces. It just makes such a difference.

03:46So look, to Comic Relief and to Refugee Council for helping start something like this. Massive

03:52props to you guys. And look, if you're watching this, give Fair Shot FC a follow.

03:57They're going to the top.

04:13They're going to the top.

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