Field of Dreams: Football Breathes Life into Yemen’s Camps

Marib: Every summer in Marib, Yemen, a place marked by loss and uncertainty, a football tournament offers a rare kind of hope. For hundreds of displaced youth living across more than a dozen sites, it's a chance to unite, to belong, and to dream. According to United Nations, the tournament is more than a sporting event. It's a lifeline. In Marib Governorate, where over 2.3 million internally displaced people have settled, families live in makeshift shelters, often after being forced to flee multiple times. Water is scarce, the heat is unforgiving, and access to education and health care is limited at best. In these conditions, there is little space for childhood, let alone for play. Yet when the whistle blows, something shifts. On the field, children and young adults are no longer defined by conflict. For a moment, they become teammates, competitors, and determined athletes, focused on the game and nothing else. Football, for Basheer, is more than a distraction. It's a refuge. A rare moment of focus and jo y in a life shaped by duty and survival. "Football takes me to another world," says Basheer. "When I'm playing, I forget everything else." Despite its popularity, this year's tournament faced a serious challenge: a lack of funding. In previous years, IOM had managed to fully equip the teams. Players received football boots, socks, kits, and even proper goalposts. This year, IOM's Camp Coordination and Camp Management team could only provide basic jerseys. Jamal Alshami, an IOM field assistant and one of the long-time organizers, feared the turnout would suffer and that players might lose interest or feel discouraged. But the opposite happened. "Even more players joined than last year," he recounts. "Some came barefoot and played all day under the burning sun. They were happy just to be there." Displacement takes a toll on mental health. Life in the camps is stressful and isolating. But sport, and football in particular, gives young people a way to reconnect with themselves and with each other. "When people are displaced, they leave behind everything. That includes the things they used to enjoy," says Mr. Alshami. "That's why these activities matter. They help people relax and reconnect with something they once loved." That sense of joy was felt far beyond the players themselves. Spectators gathered along the sidelines, cheering with every goal. Commentators brought the matches to life with their lively calls. Even camp managers paused their work to watch. For a few hours each day, the camps felt different. They felt louder, lighter, and full of life. With Marib continuing to receive new waves of displacement, IOM is working to bring mental health and psychosocial support closer to the ground. This includes sports, youth clubs, and cultural events. Football, in this context, is more than a game. It is a reminder of identity. A way to heal. A moment of normal life in a place where very little feels normal.