00:02In Fairfield in Western Sydney, the crisp air of the winter's evening is warmed by a
00:08common passion. 22-year-old Ahmad Hakimi is in his element.
00:14I love everything about football. It's a part of my life.
00:19He came to Australia almost two years ago.
00:22The Taliban were in Afghanistan, so we decided to go to Pakistan, and we came from Pakistan.
00:28He's now part of a FIFA Foundation program run by not-for-profit RecLink Australia.
00:35In essence, it's looking to support refugees, newly arrived migrants to Australia.
00:41Support them not just in terms of providing a sport that they love and they flourish in,
00:46but also supporting them with their settlement journey.
00:48The program is funded for two years, removing the cost barrier that often prevents many new arrivals
00:55from participating in sport.
00:57When the refugees, they came to Australia, they're dealing with social isolation, with
01:02mental problems, with lots of issues, and the only way that we can support them is to support
01:08and the creation.
01:09More than 80 participants are enrolled in the program. The majority are new arrivals to Australia,
01:15and many are learning English for the first time. But out here on the pitch, football is
01:21proving to be a universal language.
01:23I like football, and that's it.
01:26In football, it's like everyone unites. You don't need to know the language. You just say,
01:32ball, ball, pass. It's very simple, and I guess we just connect in that way.
01:38As for their World Cup tips...
01:41Brazil and Portugal. Of course, I support Australia as well. That's my favourite team as well.
01:46Brazil and Portugal.
01:49Brazil and Portugal.
01:50Brazil and Portugal.
01:52Brazil and Portugal.
01:53Brazil and Portugal.
01:53Brazil and Portugal.
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