More Than Football

MES is more than football. The humanitarian partnership between FC Barcelona, Nike and UNHCR brings sport and education to underprivileged youth and refugees around the world.

The kids touched by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have been forced from their homes out of fear of persecution and often fear for their lives. They live in temporary refugee camps across borders in foreign countries. Temporary lasts for years, and often entire childhoods are spent in these camps, which struggle to hold tens of thousands of refugees.

The children leave behind everything familiar to them, carrying with them the memory of the terrifying events that forced them to leave their homes. Sport provides a familiarity and a point of connection to their former lives. It helps them cope with the traumas, connect with new neighbors, and make friends with other children in the camps.

As cliche as it sounds, when they are playing sports, they can be kids again. They've lived through more pain than anyone--child or adult--should have to, and if but for a moment sport returns their minds and emotions back to that ideal. It allows them to be themselves.

The net proceeds from the sale of MES-branded products are distributed through the FC Barcelona Foundation and UNHCR's ninemillion.org campaign to help raise awareness and fund projects that contribute to sports and education for some of the most disadvantaged youth in the world.

Discover more at mesfootball.org