A football club in Qatar has allowed African migrant workers to dream of becoming professional football players one day.
Mazrouah FC in Doha was formed by African workers. Coach Robert Otiato takes his players through two hour-long training sessions on the sandy field before sprinkling in some motivation.
“Your talent will open doors for you. There is a vision. There is a future,” he tells them, The Guardian reported.
Seeing a future has been challenging for the African workers, whose homes are no more than 100m from the field. They are in Qatar to make money to send home, but in the few hours they have free, they escape to the football pitch.
Otiato, a 28-year-old Kenyan, moved to Qatar two years ago with the idea that he would be a waiter. But he ended up being employed to load and unload trucks.
He was a goalkeeper in the lower leagues in Kenya and his burning passion for the game continued in Qatar.
He saw a group of workers who were hungry to play football and decided to bring them together to form a local club. Now the squad of 30 players trains six evenings a week.
“We’re thinking about how we’re going to grow beyond this place,” Otiato says.
“This is just the start.”
The club began playing friendlies against other migrant clubs and even entered two amateur tournaments, reaching the final 12 in one of them.
Each player contributes R250 a month to run the club.
Mazrouah’s captain is Omar, a midfielder with a strong presence on the ball.
He arrived in Qatar after accepting a cleaning job at a golf club.
“I like bringing people together. Leadership is my thing. I have a plan and know I’ll be a professional player one day,” he said.
For all the hardships migrant workers endure in Qatar, there is hope — and it lies in a dusty football field close to where they live.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Pictured above: Mazrouah FC
Image source: Mazrouah FC Twitter
