National Association of british Arabs

The Baqa’a Football Club

By Hussein Al-alak
Director of the Middle East Cultural Association
Chairman of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign (UK)

The Baqa’a Football Club plays a great role in helping to bring up young people and orphans within the Baqa’a Refugee Camp. Home to around 120,000 displaced Palestinians and established in 1968, the football club sees its role as not only involving people in a healthy sporting life but also by helping those with out families.

Playing a central role in the life of the camps young people, not only does the club train young people to become footballers but Baqa’a Club also trains young people in a wide range of other sports such as boxing, weight lifting, table tennis and volley ball.

All of this coincides with a young person’s education, which is heavily encouraged and training is matched to fit in with term and examination time. Within the club, there also sits several committees, who deal with a wide range of issues that are of concern for the refugees.

These committees include health and welfare, culture, education and personal aspiration. The club also provides an extensive support network for the camps young people, which helps them to develop friendships and camaraderie through the process of training.

Over the years Baqa’a has developed a sporting reputation within Jordan; they have members in the Jordanian National Football Team and also sit in the countries premier league. This works alongside the champion boxers who have also come out of the Baqa’a stable and have gone on to conquer most of the Arab world and as I sit here writing this article many more young people are training in the refugee camp to continue this tradition.

Unlike many sports and football clubs in other parts of the world, when you first drive into the Baqa’a Club you are struck by the uneven and rocky patch of land that is used for a car park. When you enter the club and see the training facilities for the boxers, tennis players and footballers alike, it is difficult from the Western perspective to understand how such a club sits in the same league as other more luxurious bodies like Manchester United.

During the day, in one room alone, there is a display of several folded up table-tennis tables which are stacked in one corner.By day this room plays host to the camps orphans. Each class fits around fifty children and the daily lessons are taken with as much seriousness by the orphans as they are their teachers.

The club though does have the desire to improve its situation, by trying to encourage sponsorship and investment within the Camp. They are seeking to raise around 230,000 pounds to begin with, to invest in projects which deal primarily with the orphans.

The dream of the vice chairman, along with other members of the club, is to provide these children with a general medical clinic, facilities for games and education along with providing full time supervision for the children. The project also aspires to build for the first time in the refugee camps history, a library, which would give the young people greater access to literature and hopefully even use of the internet.

Like many of the projects in Baqa’a, some of the clubs maintenance is paid for out of grants provided by the Jordanian Government but for the most, the club relies upon donations. For each boxer alone, to provide the proper training equipment, which allows them to train and fight with a minimized risk, costs around two hundred British pounds. Some of this is currently being covered out of the pockets of the paid workers at the club and again, the rest is by donation.

The Middle East Cultural Association, in partnership with the Iraq Solidarity Campaign (UK) is launching an on-going financial appeal, to support and assist in developing the good work that is currently being undertaken at the Baqa’a Club. If you would like to make a donation you can request a direct debit form or send a cheque made payable to the "Middle East Cultural Association" to the following address the Middle East Cultural Association, c/o ISC, PO BOX 202, Manchester, M21 7WD, the UK.

For more information on the Baqa'a Refugee Camp please check out www.baqaacamp.blogspot.com

back to the top of the page

back to the news main page

Head
	The Baqa’a Football Club By Hussein Al-alak Director of the Middle East Cultural Association Chairman of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign (UK) The Baqa’a Football Club plays a great role in helping to bring up young people and orphans within the Baqa’a Refugee Camp. Home to around 120,000 displaced Palestinians and established in 1968, the football club sees its role as not only involving people in a healthy sporting life but also by helping those with out families. Playing a central role in the life of the camps young people, not only does the club train young people to become footballers but Baqa’a Club also trains young people in a wide range of other sports such as boxing, weight lifting, table tennis and volley ball. All of this coincides with a young person’s education, which is heavily encouraged and training is matched to fit in with term and examination time. Within the club, there also sits several committees, who deal with a wide range of issues that are of concern for the refugees. These committees include health and welfare, culture, education and personal aspiration. The club also provides an extensive support network for the camps young people, which helps them to develop friendships and camaraderie through the process of training. Over the years Baqa’a has developed a sporting reputation within Jordan; they have members in the Jordanian National Football Team and also sit in the countries premier league. This works alongside the champion boxers who have also come out of the Baqa’a stable and have gone on to conquer most of the Arab world and as I sit here writing this article many more young people are training in the refugee camp to continue this tradition. Unlike many sports and football clubs in other parts of the world, when you first drive into the Baqa’a Club you are struck by the uneven and rocky patch of land that is used for a car park. When you enter the club and see the training facilities for the boxers, tennis players and footballers alike, it is difficult from the Western perspective to understand how such a club sits in the same league as other more luxurious bodies like Manchester United. During the day, in one room alone, there is a display of several folded up table-tennis tables which are stacked in one corner.By day this room plays host to the camps orphans. Each class fits around fifty children and the daily lessons are taken with as much seriousness by the orphans as they are their teachers. The club though does have the desire to improve its situation, by trying to encourage sponsorship and investment within the Camp. They are seeking to raise around 230,000 pounds to begin with, to invest in projects which deal primarily with the orphans. The dream of the vice chairman, along with other members of the club, is to provide these children with a general medical clinic, facilities for games and education along with providing full time supervision for the children. The project also aspires to build for the first time in the refugee camps history, a library, which would give the young people greater access to literature and hopefully even use of the internet. Like many of the projects in Baqa’a, some of the clubs maintenance is paid for out of grants provided by the Jordanian Government but for the most, the club relies upon donations. For each boxer alone, to provide the proper training equipment, which allows them to train and fight with a minimized risk, costs around two hundred British pounds. Some of this is currently being covered out of the pockets of the paid workers at the club and again, the rest is by donation. The Middle East Cultural Association, in partnership with the Iraq Solidarity Campaign (UK) is launching an on-going financial appeal, to support and assist in developing the good work that is currently being undertaken at the Baqa’a Club. If you would like to make a donation you can request a direct debit form or send a cheque made payable to the "Middle East Cultural Association" to the following address the Middle East Cultural Association, c/o ISC, PO BOX 202, Manchester, M21 7WD, the UK. For more information on the Baqa'a Refugee Camp please check out www.baqaacamp.blogspot.com back to the top of the page back to the news main page