For the NYC asylum-seekers, an informal soccer squad serves as a vital lifeline
His anxieties fade away, leaving only him, his intense concentration on the ball, the net, and his teammates.
Lukaku has a multitude of concerns. The 22-year-old refugee emigrated to the United States in 2023, fleeing political turmoil in his native Guinea, a country located between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone along the Atlantic Coast. Since settling in Brooklyn, he's grappled with finding a lawyer for his asylum case and job opportunities to sustain himself and his family, living in densely populated and disorderly shelters.
However, the Newcomers Football Club, an unplanned team composed mostly of refugees, has provided him with an unparalleled sense of joy that alleviates his stress. It has also aided him in forging connections with a supportive community as he grapples with the challenges of adapting to a new country, its language, and complex immigration system.
“We’re like a family,” he said of his teammates. “There is respect, love, and understanding among us.”
The team is the brainchild of Mars Leonard, a commercial videographer based in Brooklyn. Leonard was volunteering for a mutual aid group in Bushwick when he discovered that hundreds of refugees had taken refuge at Stockton House across the street. The city closed the shelter due to reducing arrivals, causing chaos for its residents. They were in search of a place to play soccer – a common pastime they cherished from their native lands.
Leonard had no prior experience working with refugees or soccer, but he spoke French, like many West African refugees. He decided to help find a space for them to play.
In the ensuing months, the makeshift project has expanded from an informal game to a organized club competing with other New York teams, joining forces with another similar initiative led by co-organizer Avram Kline.
Dozens of athletes, mostly young men from West Africa and Latin America seeking asylum, gather on Wednesday and Sunday evenings in Bushwick and Williamsburg (the club has over 300 members in its WhatsApp group). They play music, joke, and engage in friendly banter on the field, settling disputes over dinner after practice.
Leonard's ambitions for the project span from the practical to the ambitious.
In the short-term, they need cleats and equipment for every player, income generated through a verified GoFundMe campaign to cover expenses. Entering local tournaments requires fundraising specifically. Daily expenses like soccer balls, pizza, and soda are covered by Leonard and other organizers out of their pockets.
The players also need a dedicated field and storage space. Due to the popularity of practices, they've had to turn away aspiring players due to lack of space.
“The first step is to have an inter-shelter room that is adequately equipped,” Leonard said. With additional resources, “the men can eat when they play, and we can accommodate anyone who wishes to play.”
The long-term goal? To establish a non-profit organization that can employ asylum-seekers as referees or soccer coaches for kids, ultimately helping them earn a living while utilizing their skills and interests. In the future, he envisions the soccer club acquiring its own space, acting as a comprehensive community center offering soccer, English classes, food, and various other resources free of charge to asylum-seekers.
“My ambition for this program is unbounded,” Leonard said.
A passion for soccer, from Guinea to Bushwick
For Lukaku, and numerous other young men from western Africa, soccer is a cultural symbol, a bond that transcends social barriers and permeates every aspect of life.
“I've dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player ever since I was a kid,” he said. “Soccer is my passion. When I play soccer, everything seems to be going well for me.”
His fondest recollections of life in Conakry, Guinea's capital, are playing soccer with his friends. Born into a poor family with six siblings, he noted that poverty is rampant in the country: Over 65% of the population is considered "multidimensionally poor" according to the United Nations Development Programme.
His family, he said, is part of the "marginalized" Fulani community. Fulani people, also called Fula or Fulɓe, are a mainly Muslim ethnic group spread across western Africa. The Fulani have suffered targeted violence in nearby Mali and Burkina Faso.
Lukaku had been arrested in Conakry and subjected to inhumane treatment for his participation in protests in 2022 demanding Fulani rights and decrying widespread poverty within the country.
Several of his friends were killed during the protests, he added. Hundreds have been killed and severely injured during the government's crackdown on protests since 2019, according to Amnesty International.
Living in Guinea had become unsafe. Along with a group of twelve friends, he embarked on a grueling journey across the Atlantic, taking loans to cover the travel expenses. The journey lasted 28 days and traversed eight countries, before he finally reached Arizona in December. The most challenging part, he said, was in Mexico, where police "physically attacked us if we did not comply" and took money from him and his companions.
Lukaku was part of a wave of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. in recent years. Like many others sent from southern border states to the north, he was transported from Arizona to New York.
Over 180,000 individuals went through New York's asylum-seeker system from the spring of 2022 to May of 2024. In response, New York City opened more than 200 emergency shelters and anticipates spending over $12 billion through Fiscal Year 2025, as stated by Mayor Eric Adams' team.
The surge in numbers led to adjustments in the city's migrant policies, such as a new rule requiring adult migrants to exit the shelter system within 30 days. This new policy has caused anxiety and disruption for some individuals, according to Leonard. Asylum-seekers might be transferred from Brooklyn to different parts of the city unexpectedly, separating them from their network of friends and community organizations they had grown close to, like Newcomers FC.
New York is synonymous with "freedom, safety, and a better life" for Lukaku. However, life in the city has had its difficulties. Regardless of living at 9 Hall Street or Jefferson in Brooklyn, he encountered similar circumstances: confined living spaces with numerous men sharing cots, along with sparse meals.
Lukaku's encounter with Newcomers FC in May signified a shift in his New York life. The team has enabled him to meet new individuals and establish a spot of joy in his daily stresses of job hunting and searching for legal assistance for his asylum case.
The emotional connections he has developed with his teammates remind him of the kinship he left behind in Guinea, he stated.
"In Africa, we are accustomed to living in community," he said. "And occasionally, when I am in the field with my Guinean, Senegalese, Mauritanian, American, Venezuelan, or other friends, it reminds me of African memories."
Lukaku regards Leonard as "like a brother" to him.
Leonard concurred with Lukaku's sentiments: The team has become a community for asylum-seekers.
Leonard mentioned that initially, tensions were high, particularly between the Spanish-speaking migrants from South and Central America and French-speaking migrants from West Africa. However, playing soccer together helped break down the language barrier.
"Soccer is literally the language," he said. "They can connect, and they grow closer in a manner that seems impossible or challenging otherwise."
“Soccer as a tool to aid the vulnerable”
For Leonard and the other team organizers behind Newcomers FC, the soccer team serves as a natural platform for supporting asylum-seekers in need.
During the cold winter, Leonard observed that many team members lacked suitable clothing for the harsh New York temperatures. After learning that another community help group, Bushwick Ayuda Mutua, had excess funds, he persuaded them to invest the money in purchasing winter coats and boots at a discounted price.
"We use soccer as a tool to aid the vulnerable," he said.
Leonard identified three primary areas of need for the asylum-seekers: "They need to learn English, they need jobs, and they need apartments."
The team attempts to alleviate these needs, in part through their WhatsApp group, where they share information about free English classes, legal aid clinics for asylum cases, and food pantries. This helps soften the harsh realities of living in New York, he explained, and they also share amusing memes and joke together.
The club has taken steps towards its goal of starting a business that employs asylum-seekers by hosting small-scale soccer clinics for kids, with team members acting as their coaches.
Every Sunday, they play mixed matches with other members of the Autonomous Football League, a group of six teams from Brooklyn and Queens with ties to community organizing. Playing mixed matches allows Newcomers FC members to meet new people and practice their English, Leonard stated.
As Leonard, the team organizers in the Autonomous Football League also view soccer as a natural starting point for assistance.
"Since the sport helps foster tight-knit communities both in how it is played and in how we organize the games, it was a natural choice to use our matches as platforms for helping people in need," said Andreas, an organizer with Stop Cop City United, one of the clubs responsible for organizing the Autonomous Football League. He requested to be identified using only his first name due to privacy concerns.
The league has facilitated food distributors, clothing drives, and a free store for the Newcomers FC members.
The support they provide aids in counteracting the hostile environments created due to ineffective and draconian laws, as well as the destructive actions of the Eric Adams administration, stated Andreas.
Meanwhile, Andreas mentioned the challenges with obtaining work permits for asylum-seekers, the city's 30-day shelter stay policy, and the lack of interpreters and translation services. When residents in the Stockton shelter were told to leave, they were only given instructions in English, Andreas pointed out.
Regardless, their efforts can only go so far: "There is no amount of food served or socks collected that can compensate for everything the city should be providing but fails to, for our friends," said Helen, an organizer with Stop Cop City United who requested to only be identified by her middle name to protect her privacy.
Adams' office has yet to respond to CNN's repeated requests for comment on the criticisms. The mayor previously stated, in a press release, that the city has "put care and compassion first throughout our response" to the influx of asylum-seekers.
For Lukaku, the diverse hurdles of establishing a fresh start in New York continue to loom. His inability to get legitimate work in the city leaves him financially strapped, unable to pay rent and move beyond the shelter. And he's still on the hunt for a lawyer.
However, Lukaku pointed out, Newcomers has achieved something significant.
It "rekindled the grin I wore in Africa while playing football," he said.
Despite still needing to find a lawyer and secure a job to support his family, Lukaku finds solace and joy in being a part of the Newcomers Football Club. The club provides him with a supportive community and brings back memories of playing soccer in his native Guinea with his friends.
The club, run by Mars Leonard, has been instrumental in providing a space for refugees to play soccer and connect with one another, helping stir a sense of community among them. Leonard's ambition is to establish a non-profit organization that can employ asylum-seekers as referees or soccer coaches, ultimately giving them a source of income and utilizing their skills and interests.
