Tonight, on Wednesday 17th of June 2026, England begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas. Whatever happens on the pitch, millions of us will feel that familiar rush of nerves, hope and togetherness that only football can create.
For most of us, football is a game we watch from the sofa or the pub. But for children growing up in conflict, displacement or disaster, it can be something far bigger: a rare patch of normal life, a way to make friends, and sometimes the only thing they manage to carry with them when they flee.
Right now, more than one in five of the world's children - a record 520 million - are living in areas affected by conflict. For them, a football and an open patch of ground can be a lifeline.
Coaching for Life: football with a purpose
Since 2011, the Arsenal Foundation has been Save the Children's longest-running global partner, and in 2018 the two organisations launched something unique: Coaching for Life, at Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan. The programme combines our child protection expertise with Arsenal's experience in sports development, using football to support the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of Syrian children affected by the war. More than 6,800 children have now graduated, and what started with a handful of girls has grown into a programme where equal numbers of girls and boys take part. Read more about how the partnership has grown.
Jana*, 13
Jana* lives in Za'atari with her parents and five younger brothers and sisters, and cycles to the Coaching for Life centre every week.
"I love to ride my bike, I play football once a week. I'm waiting for this day to come every week," she says. "When I play football I feel happy, full of energy and optimism. In the past I had no friends, now I have a lot of friends - this is one of my favourite things about the programme."
Breaking the rules of the game
Dana*, 13, knows what it means to fight for the right to play. An Iraqi girl, her family fled conflict in Iraq when she was young, became trapped in Syria, and were repeatedly displaced before arriving at a camp in north-east Syria in 2019. What she experienced in those years affected her deeply: she stopped speaking to other children, stayed in her family's tent, and lost interest in school.
It was football that helped her find her way back. After joining activities at Save the Children's child-friendly space, Dana decided to set up her own team - five girls, taking on the traditional norms of camp life one match at a time.
"Each time I play football, I feel as if I am in a big stadium and thousands of people are watching me," she says. "It helps me taste freedom inside this prison that we are held in. When I play, I forget the feeling of being trapped." Her team has gone on to win match after match. "We dream of participating in matches outside this camp," she says. Today, Dana is back in school for the first time in her life.
From Somalia to Lebanon: finding a way back to childhood
In Somalia, Ali*, 8, arrived at a camp for displaced families with no school and no friends, after drought and conflict forced his family from their farm. He spent his first weeks withdrawn and afraid, until his mother enrolled him at Save the Children's child-friendly space. Slowly, through play, lessons and football, he began to open up. Today his teachers describe him as one of the most confident children there - reading, writing, playing happily with his peers, and encouraging other new arrivals to join in.
Tala*, 10
In Lebanon, Tala*, held onto two things when her family fled their home in the south: a notebook to study with, and a football to play with.
"I brought my notebook to study and my football to play with," she says. "I just want the war to end so I can go home to my village and sleep in my own bed. I really miss school, I want to see my teachers and be with my friends, and study and play again."
Bringing it home
From school playgrounds in Hong Kong to refugee camps in Jordan, we see the same thing again and again: give a child a football, and you give them back a piece of childhood. A reason to laugh. A team to belong to. A reason to hope.
This World Cup, as we cheer England on, we're also celebrating something bigger: a game that, for children like Jana, Dana, Ali and Tala, can mean the difference between feeling lost and feeling free.
*Names have been changed to protect children's identities.
