Source: #SheBelongs and Refugee Soccer
Parity is incredibly excited and honored to be hosting a virtual screening of the documentary #SheBelongs the Movie on May 1st. #SheBelongs the Movie tells the incredible story of a team of refugee and non-refugee teenage girls who came together to celebrate belonging in the run up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
There are countless organizations that support refugees as they flee their homes and look for safety elsewhere. However, there are few and far between that continue to support refugees after all the paperwork settles and their new lives begin. Refugee Soccer, founded in 2016, is one of those programs. Inspired by his personal relationships with refugee families, Adam Miles felt called to bridge the gap between refugee and community member, and knew that soccer could go a long way towards helping bridge that divide. Soccer, or football as it’s better known pretty much everywhere, is by far the most popular sport in the world. It can be played with simply a ball: no language skills required. In a time of life when things feel uncertain and everything is new, the opportunity to build community through familiarity can feel like a breath of home.
Source: #SheBelongs and Refugee Soccer
But while Refugee Soccer was an immediate success, there was a key demographic who Adam wasn’t seeing out on the pitch: girls.
Refugee girls face intersectional barriers of race, gender, language and cultural norms (among others) which prevent them from engaging easily in activities like sports.
Often they are discouraged from activities outside the home, and sports like soccer could be something with which they have little to no experience. As the 2023 Women’s World Cup started to gain momentum, Adam knew that he had to jump on the train, and use the international excitement to change international perception of refugee girls. He recounts that the words “she belongs” hit him like a jolt, and he had his inspiration: he would take a team of half refugee, half non-refugee young women to the Women’s World Cup. In less than three months.
While #SheBelongs was born out of a momentary inspiration, Adam Miles isn’t new to this work. Both Refugee Soccer and #SheBelongs exist under the umbrella of Bridges to America, Inc., which Adam founded in 2005. Bridges to America was inspired by a friendship Adam formed with a refugee from the Central African Republic, who had been forced to leave his family, including his six children, behind as he fled. The organization works to legally reunite displaced African families in the United States, which it does through legal and financial support, as well as integrate refugee families into their new communities, which it now does largely through Refugee Soccer.
When Adam started to pull a team together to make #SheBelongs a reality, there was some skepticism. How would 22 girls from Utah get on planes to New Zealand in less than 3 months time? Who would go with them? How would they get from the airport to the hotel? Would all of the refugee girls be able to travel? Also, Adam wanted to add a stop in Tokyo. As in… Japan? Yes, Tokyo, Japan was added to the ambitious itinerary. Japan approves asylum for less than 1% of asylum seekers who come to their borders, so Adam wanted to bring the team there to help spread their message of belonging.
The girls would play friendlies first in California, then against teams in Tokyo and eventually in New Zealand. Who would they play? How was this all going to work?
All these questions and more set the stage for #SheBelongs the Movie.
Source: #SheBelongs and Refugee Soccer
This beautiful documentary tells the story of the ambitious journey from start to finish, with all of the wins and road bumps along the way. Viewers will get to learn more about Adam and what this work means to him, and hear from stars like Naomi Girma and former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on the value of sport in the immigrant and refugee journey. We get inside insight from the #SheBelongs head coach, and hear from coordinators and lawyers who were involved with the project. However, the real stars are, of course, the young women who make up the #SheBelongs team. It’s incredible to watch these young women grow in confidence and experience throughout the summer of a lifetime, and also inspiring to get to know their individual stories. Each young woman’s story is unique, and yet they all get the opportunity to come together for this brief moment in their lives.
This is a film about displacement and politics, about loss and breaking down stereotypes. But it’s also a film about the promise of international relationships, friendship bracelets and the pure magic of girlhood, which in and of itself is a universal language. This is a story you don’t want to miss: we guarantee it will change the way you think about the possibilities of sport, and the dramatic realities of the refugee crisis.
What’s next for this young program? In just a few weeks, young women will be packing their bags and boarding flights yet again for the inaugural #SheBelongs Global Cup. Teams from the US, Europe, India and Japan will be competing against one another in Madrid, Spain, from June 1-7. Each team will have at least 6 refugee members, and all of the Cup’s players will participate in activities that promote Service, Health and Education. The Cup hopes to carry the momentum of the whirlwind 2023 summer forward, and continue to change the lives of both refugee and non-refugee young women. The #SheBelongs Global Cup is still seeking sponsors to support this life changing event. More information can be found about sponsorship levels here, and contact information can be accessed here.
Please register for our virtual screening of #SheBelongs the Movie here, and don’t forget to follow #SheBelongs on Instagram for more updates as the #SheBelongs Global Cup gets ready for liftoff!
Source: #SheBelongs and Refugee Soccer
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