At a very young age back in 2017, repression and conflict in Shohail’s homeland of Myanmar forced his family into a nervy 4-day journey, fleeing to finally find safer refuge in Bangladesh. That place was Camp 19, Block B6 in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement of over 1 million. Now many years on, it is an environment of great strain - recently rations had to be slashed due to lack of funding, and a huge blaze tore through one of the camps leaving an estimated 12,000 Rohingya without the shelter they’d had; further hardship as an already forcibly displaced group of people who are limited in their movement and work opportunities.

Understandably reserved and shy due to his past upheaval, and sometimes struggling to string together sentences, Shohail managed to find a language that transcends borders, that of sport.  And there in our collaborative clubhouse project in the camp with our fantastic partners PSG for Communities, Friendship NGO, UNHCR Bangladesh and Wilde Ganzen, he also found a chance to bring his remarkable agility and speed to the pitch, stepping into the role of defender and goalkeeper in the football team games between different camp blocks.

What sports has created for Shohail is clearly a feeling of trust and safety, particularly with Sakan Chakma, the Project’s Trainer, and he now feels free to express himself openly through movement and sport. Be it on the pitch, in a diving save or by busting out a wild dance move of celebration, or through the precision athleticism of his personal favourite sport, sepak takraw (an impressive form of volleyball played with the feet for those not in the know!)

All hesitancy seems now to have evaporated from Shohail, who proudly dons his KLABU x PSG shirt 3 or 4 times a week at the clubhouse, and bicycle kicks his way through life, as a symbol of hope and resilience to other kids in the Cox’s Bazar camp. He displays ambassador-like qualities, and shares the clubhouse aim of bringing more and more people in contact with the transformative power of sport to relieve the traumas the Rohingya community have clearly suffered. In March 2024 alone, 9,199 kids passed through the project’s sporting activities such as football, volleyball, badminton, cricket, and sepak takraw, with plenty of competitive matches. They were also able to enjoy the safe space of the clubhouse in contrast to their camp surroundings, and gather together to watch PSG matches on the big screen.

Shohail’s own experiences serve as inspiration for others, and the clubhouse project’s nurturing of his clear talent and potential will doubtless pay dividends not only for him personally, but also for the uplifting of his entire community. He is, as the beautiful game celebrates, a truly safe pair of hands. So look out for Shohail, world - a teen boy who is a much bigger character than first glance would have you believe.