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