Nearly 500,000 Syrians have fled to Egypt over the last five years. The priority for most has been to rebuild their shattered lives. For others this has been an opportunity to fulfill their dreams.
As CGTN’s Yasser Hakim reports, Anas Abu Jawwad is one Syrian refugee whose love for football has kept him going through difficult times.
He played in one of Syria’s top teams and in Cyprus, but his career saw a deviation when war broke out in his country. Having taken coaching courses in Egypt and worked as a youth coach, he has now established a football academy for Syrian refugees, called the Syrian Stars Academy.
In only two years, the number of players training every day has increased from a dozen to over 500 from different age groups. He has also organized two tournaments gathering Syrian students from around the country and unearthed talents like 14-year-old Akram, who is now being scouted by Egypt’s premier league champions.
