Greek soccer hero helps refugees win battle against boredom – Beloit Daily News
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, coach of Hope Refugee Football Club Antreas Sampanis, right, gives directions to his players before a soccer match in western Athens. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this photo dated Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club celebrate a goal during a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Syrian Hozaifa Hajdepo of Hope Refugee Football Club kicks a corner during a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Ahmad Fahim Ahmadi from Afghanistan of Hope Refugee Football Club, center, and a player of 3D Team of Hellenic American University Football Club fight for the ball during a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Hope Refugee Football Club, left, and 3D Team of Hellenic American University Football Club posing for photo before a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On Sundays they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, a player of Hope Refugee Football Club controls the ball before a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On Sundays they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, a boy plays with a plastic crate as members of the Hope leave the refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club pray before a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Mohammad Omar from Syria waits before a soccer match for his teammates at the refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY : GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE : In this Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, Antreas Sampanis, left, coach of Hope Refugee Football Club speaks to his players during a training in Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. The team is called “Hope” and is made up of players who fled warzones like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, Mohammad Omar from Syria plays with his teammates at the refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Ahmad Fahim Ahmadi from Afghanistan listens music inside his container house in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY : GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE: Greece Team Called Hope In this Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club play with the ball during a training in Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. The team is called “Hope” and is made up of players who fled warzones like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE Greece Team Called Hope In this Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club practice during a training in Athens. The team is called “Hope” and is made up of players who fled warzones like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE : Greece Team Called Hope In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Hozaifa Hajdepo from Syria, second left, soccer player of Hope waits at a canteen at a refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, coach of Hope Refugee Football Club Antreas Sampanis, right, gives directions to his players before a soccer match in western Athens. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this photo dated Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club celebrate a goal during a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Syrian Hozaifa Hajdepo of Hope Refugee Football Club kicks a corner during a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Ahmad Fahim Ahmadi from Afghanistan of Hope Refugee Football Club, center, and a player of 3D Team of Hellenic American University Football Club fight for the ball during a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Hope Refugee Football Club, left, and 3D Team of Hellenic American University Football Club posing for photo before a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On Sundays they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, a player of Hope Refugee Football Club controls the ball before a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On Sundays they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, a boy plays with a plastic crate as members of the Hope leave the refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club pray before a soccer match in western Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. On weekends they play in an amateur league against teams made up of professional groups like lawyers, telecom workers, and accountants. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Mohammad Omar from Syria waits before a soccer match for his teammates at the refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY : GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE : In this Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, Antreas Sampanis, left, coach of Hope Refugee Football Club speaks to his players during a training in Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. The team is called “Hope” and is made up of players who fled warzones like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, Mohammad Omar from Syria plays with his teammates at the refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE – In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Ahmad Fahim Ahmadi from Afghanistan listens music inside his container house in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY : GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE: Greece Team Called Hope In this Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club play with the ball during a training in Athens. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. The team is called “Hope” and is made up of players who fled warzones like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE Greece Team Called Hope In this Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, players of Hope Refugee Football Club practice during a training in Athens. The team is called “Hope” and is made up of players who fled warzones like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
-
FOR STORY: GREECE TEAM CALLED HOPE : Greece Team Called Hope In this Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, Hozaifa Hajdepo from Syria, second left, soccer player of Hope waits at a canteen at a refugee camp in the western Athens’ suburb of Skaramagas. Former Greek national soccer team goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who became a national hero in 2004 during the European Cup, is heading a project to help refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose, working as a team. Most players of Hope Refugee Football Club live in a large trailer park at Skaramagas, an industrial zone west of Athens, where freight containers are turned into shoebox-shaped homes. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
SKARAMANGAS, Greece (AP) Soccer fans of a certain age may still remember Antonis Nikopolidis for his resemblance to American actor George Clooney and as the goalkeeper who helped Greece become surprise European Champions in 2004.
Now the country’s national youth team coach, Nikopolidis is helping refugees stranded in Greece regain a sense of purpose. The soccer team he helped build, named Hope (Elpida in Greek), is made up of players who fled warzones in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most of Hope’s players live in Skaramangas, an industrial zone west of Athens where metal containers have been turned into shoebox-shaped homes. They compete in an amateur league on Sundays, facing teams made up of lawyers, telecom workers and accountants.
Nikopolidis, a soft-spoken 46-year-old whose hair has turned silver in retirement, says team practices and matches provide a welcome distraction for young men facing uncertain futures in the European Union’s slow-moving relocation program.
“We’re helping people who are at a difficult moment in their lives,” he said. “They are guests in our country, and we are trying with this team to give them a few hours of happiness.”
Soccer is the main source of entertainment for many of the 60,000 refugees and economic migrants living in camps around Greece while they wait for asylum applications to be processed and a possible move elsewhere in Europe.
“You have to spend your time (doing something) because it’s very boring,” Hozaifa Hajdepo, 23, a Hope player from Syria, said. “If you stay in your home and you don’t have work, you will be like you will die.”
The Union of European Football Associations, the governing body for soccer in Europe, has awarded grants to assist refugees in 15 countries. Some of the money that went to Greece is being used to sponsor Nikopolidis’ team.
Nearly 9,000 refugees have been moved from Greece to other European Union countries, and the coach already has lost several players. But with the pace of relocations still at just over half the target rate, most of the team expects to be in Greece for a while.
“It’s a joy for me to do this,” Nikopolidis said. “The main thing is that they enjoy it, that they have fun … We have created a group of friends, with bonds of friendship, a family.”
___
Theodora Tongas and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Athens contributed. Follow Stavrakis at http://www.twitter.com/TStavrak and Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos
About Us
Free Shipping
If your order is $35 or more, you may qualify for free shipping. With free shipping, your order will be delivered 5-8 business days.
