Italian football club Sampdoria held a training camp for refugees and local children in Uganda to promote sports and peace.
ADVERTISEMENTFootball-loving refugees in Uganda enjoyed a rare treat when they were put through their paces by coaches from a major Italian club.
Marco Bracco and Roberto Morosini, from Sampdoria, held a three-day training camp to show solidarity with young lovers of the game.
"Refugees face a lot of problems so, maybe for three days, they can focus only on football. It was our little dream and now we are here, and we are very happy,” said Marco.
UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, released details of the camp ahead of World Refugee Day on Thursday, June 20.
The organisers selected youth players from refugee and host communities.
Uganda hosts more than one million refugees from about five countries, most of them from South Sudan, according to UNHCR.
Patrick Amba is one of them and he was lucky enough to be selected to take part.
“When I play football, I am happy, I feel like I am an important member of the community and I can share my ideas,” said the 14-year-old.
Kids living in refugee camps often play football despite lacking basic resources like balls and shoes.
Sampdoria partnered with the Italian embassy in Uganda, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Ugandan Olympic Committee (UOC), The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA), Italian NGO, ACAV and UNHCR to offer the camp.