Soccer unites refugees but who will give them a game?

The two -dozen or so players now train every week and play regularly against other social clubs.

Mr Khan said he had played football in Afghanistan, and later Pakistan, before injuring his leg and taking up coaching; so getting the team together came naturally.

One of Auburn United’s players, Syed Rafi Musawi, said Mr Khan had organised the team and given its players direction and something to do with their time.

Syed, a 20-year-old accounting student at Granville TAFE, said football had been the perfect vehicle for helping refugees and asylum seekers engage in Australian culture.

“Australia is multicultural and this is a multicultural game,” he said.

“People from all different communities can come and play.”

Both Syed and Essa said the team was desperate to register in an official competition so they could play regularly and participate in an Australian way of life.

The players, with the help of Settlement Services International, are now looking for sponsors to help them meet the cost of joining a club in western Sydney.

Organisations, and individuals, with an interest in sponsoring the team can contact SSI on (02) 8799 6746.