Wethersfield FC: The asylum seekers who formed a football team

• ITV News Anglia's Rob Setchell reports on Wethersfield FC - a football team founded by asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers living at a former RAF base say they are delighted to have founded their own football team.

The men, who come from countries including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Sudan, are among hundreds being housed at the former RAF Wethersfield near Braintree in Essex.

They've been helped by Changing Lives - a community service based in nearby Colchester - to start their own club, Wethersfield FC.

"Football is a universal language," said David Simmons, co-director of Changing Lives.

"You don't have to speak the language of the boys, you just have to play football and they understand it. That's what makes it so great.

"Some of them are so talented, so it was a no-brainer to come up with Wethersfield FC. It makes them feel part of a community. It makes them feel part of something special."

Talib, from Syria, is the team's striker. He crossed the channel on an overcrowded small boat earlier this year. Football, he says, helps him forget the life he fled.

"Too many people in Syria have guns," said Talib. "They tell you: come and work with me, kill this man, kill this man.

"I don't like that. I need a good life. I need to enjoy my life. I need a safe life. In Syria I don't have this."

Staff at Changing Lives regularly hold activity and fitness sessions for those staying at Wethersfield.

Liubov Liushnenko said she loved working with the asylum seekers. She fled Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago and understands the pain of leaving family to seek safety.

"I know how it feels," she said. "That's what motivates me to support them and to help them.

"Sometimes I don't want to talk about my background and what happened but playing football and doing some sport is something that helps me stop thinking about what's going on."

Mr Simmons, who also runs a team of refugees called Changing Lives FC, said Wethersfield FC would play their first fixture in the next few weeks.

He said immigration had become a "toxic" political issue - but that wouldn't stop him trying to help asylum seekers integrate into the community.

"I've lost friends for supporting refugees and asylum seekers," he said. "I've had people go against me because of my belief in helping people. That's how sad things are currently.

"But it drives me to keep going, to keep supporting people, to keep helping refugees and asylum seekers no matter where they come from, no matter their background."

Earlier this year an investigation by ITV News heard warnings of a “mental health crisis” among asylum seekers at Wethersfield, with incidents of suicide attempts and self-harm at the site rising.

Then-Home Secretary James Cleverly said people weren't telling the truth about their mental state and the Home Office said it took safety and welfare very seriously.

ITV News Anglia has also spoken to asylum seekers and refugees forging new lives in Norwich, highlighting the voices often not heard in political debates about immigration.

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