FC St. Pauli

Credit: This article first appeared on www.commonspace.scot

THE GLASGOW supporters of a German football team called FC St Pauli are raising funds to take refugee children around Hamburg to football games.

Also part of their mission is a plan to raise £2000 for charities such as Glasgow Women’s Aid (GWA) and Refuweegee, the group dedicated to welcoming of refugees into Scottish society.

The supporters cited the traditions of the football club as a reason for the development of this project; as St Pauli based in Hamburg is known for its stand against racism, sexism and homophobia.

Speaking to CommonSpace a spokesperson for the supporters group, Glasgow St Pauli, said: ”We were inspired by the ethos of FC St. Pauli with their no tolerance of racism, fascism, sexism, homophobia and all forms of discrimination and have set out to help where we can after being in awe of the work that Yorkshire St. Pauli have done to help those in need in their community.

“Our first fundraiser was from our supporters club’s first scarf, the money raised from that went to the Invisibles, a homeless charity in Glasgow. After that we had a donation of £500 from the Bon Accord for another scarf with proceeds going to Glasgow Children’s Charity hospital.”

The group has presently raised over £1,600 for their current fund and is asking for more support in order to aid all three charitable causes. In July they held an anti-racism night which raised £5000 and was divided between GWA and Glasgow Children's Charity Hospital.

Glasgow St Pauli have also used their fundraising power to help four other charities since their founding just a year ago, including organising a sit down meal at the Simon community shelter in Glasgow.

A big motivation for the organisers is to make sure that no one from any section of society feels left out during Christmas and the group believes in building support for marginalised groups such as refugees through football culture.

Many clubs in Germany, during the ongoing refugee crisis, have expressed their support of Angela Merkel’s policy of allowing hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled starvation and terror into Germany.

Those who wish to support the group can donate on their just giving page.

Credit: This article first appeared on www.commonspace.scot