Asylum seeker influx leads to cricket boom in Germany

The influx of asylum seekers in Germany, especially in cricket-mad Pakistan and Afghanistan, has created an unexpected boom for the sport in a country where football has long King.

Of the 476,649 people who applied for asylum in Germany last year, 31,902 came from Afghanistan alone, with a further 8472 from Pakistan, which has seen (DCB) flooded with a simple question, the German Cricket Association: "Where can I play"

The Chief Executive Officer of the DCB, Brian Mantle she says were inundated by inquiries through its website new clubs across the country to set up supply systems and newcomers show their local team.
Jacket which is based in the western city of Essen, the DCB runs with only one additional part-time employee for assistance.

When the Englishman in 2012 took over, there were around 1,500 cricketers in Germany playing in 70 teams.

Now there are 4,000 registered cricketers in 205 teams and last week playing the DCB welcomed its 100th new club from Bautzen near the Czech border.

And the numbers continue to grow.

"We want to get up to five requests per day for groups to start new clubs," Mantle told AFP.

"It is often social workers who had never heard of cricket in front of groups of refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan began to ask where they could play it.

"They had offered volleyball or football, but most just want to play cricket."
Thanks to donations from the existing German associations of clubs, balls and cricket clothing, including 35 boxes sent from the Lord Taverners, the world's leading youth charity's cricket United Kingdom, the DCB recently sent its 400th box of supplies from new clubs to help.

But now there is nothing left to donate.

"That was the last field, we are exhausted. We are desperate for funding or financing in search," added coat.

The biggest challenge for each newly formed group is fronted by cricket games refugees to find a ground suitable for a standard 22-yard long (20 meters long) slope of up to 10,000 euros ($ 11,400) will cost to install.

As a temporary solution, the DCB has a German supplier of Coir mats found, will cost € 650 each, which, when placed on wooden boards, like a normal pitch behavior.

Cricket's governing body, the ICC has provided € 15,000 extra resources for the DCB meet the fresh demand at the top of the € 177 000 to help finance they receive each year.

Mantle, 44, is excited about the future.

"The biggest problem of refugees is always to speak German, but this is a good way to integrate through sport they know," said sheath.

"At the moment our national U-19 team is made half of Afghans who here qualified by residence, and that number will grow.

"It can only play standard raise here and in the coming years, we were able to follow the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan, the knock on the door of the test level cricket.

"I am excited about the future, but with a significant lack of resources, we are totally overwhelmed."
A DREAM BECOMES TRUE"

Cricket has helped Arifullah Jamal adapt to life fled in late 2009 to Germany from Afghanistan as a teenager with his younger brother, to seek asylum.

After he closed 14 hours in a container on a mammoth journey from Greece to Italy, he ended up in a hostel in West Germany with his brother, struggling to make friends and learn German.

"The people in the home did not know about cricket, but eventually they asked around and that was when Brian (jacket) came to us and we were playing cricket again," he told AFP.

learned to play cricket in Pakistan before his family moved to the Kunar province of Afghanistan, was pleased Jamal in his adopted home of his favorite sport to be able to play.

Before long, the fast bowler played for the Germany U-19 side in international tournaments.

"It was really a dream come true, I'd only seen played cricket as the TV, everything was so professional and I never thought I would play for Germany at the end, when I first arrived," he added.
The 21-year-old is now captain of Essen Altendorf 09 Blue Tigers, a team from the refugees, who are playing in a regional league.

Jamal speaks six languages, including English, German and two main languages ​​of Afghanistan, Dari and Pashto.

three years of schooling have missed while he learned German, Jamal poised for his high school to study Germany's pre-college admission, translating letters using newly arrived asylum seekers and prepare documents.

Last year he won an award to assist refugees and to promote cricket in Essen for his work.

"I know from experience how much sport can help to integrate people. If we were in the hostel, we had nothing. No friends, and nothing to do. You do not speak the language and feel lost," he said.

"It was so good to play out of the room and cricket. Otherwise you sit in your room and feel depressed." Jamal says a team for refugees wanted to set up to assist with the goal of eventually win promotion to the national championships today, Cricket Bundesliga.

"It means that there is a support network, they find out where the best places are to learn German, where they can get help and find work," he explained.

"Cricket has given me so much."