NOT JUST FOOTBALL

FILM CHARACTERS

Gabriel Stauring
NOTE: Gabriel passed away in a car accident in 2021, along with his wife Katie-Jay Scott. The film “Not Just Football” will always be dedicated to their memory."

Gabriel Stauring is the founder and executive director of iACT, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit with a mission to provide humanitarian action to aid, empower, and extend hope to those affected by mass atrocities. Previously, Stauring worked as an advocate and counselor for abused children and their families in the US. He graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he a majored in Behavioral Science.
Stauring has been working in eastern Chad refugee camps since 2005, and to-date has visited 11 of the 12 Darfuri refugee camps over 23 trips to the region. While there, Stauring facilitated video conversations between the refugee community and The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, United States Department of State, and several schools.
Inspired by his trips, he has spearheaded national campaigns such as the 100-Day Fast for Darfur; Darfur Freedom Summer Vigils; Darfur Fast for Life; Camp Darfur, an educational refugee-camp like exhibit that places Darfur in the historical context of past genocides; and the ethnographic art exhibit MY HOME: A Walk Through Children’s Memories of Darfur.
Stauring currently oversees the implementation of iACT’s community-based education, sports, and human rights programs in the refugee camps, including Little Ripples preschool education program, Darfur United Soccer Academy, and the Right to Education Human Rights Library. For Little Ripples, he presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in 2013 and at the ACEI Global Summit on Childhood in March 2016. Stauring is currently on the shortlist for the 2016 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, and is featured in The Enough Moment by John Prendergast and Don Cheadle.

Quotations
“From my very first trip to the refugee camps in 2005, I could see that there was something powerful about what football could do to the spirit of a child who had experienced severe trauma. When I brought out a ball and started playing with them, they were no longer refugees or survivors. They were footballers, experiencing the same joy that any child around experiences when kicking a ball with friends”

After many trips and many duffel bags full of balls and equipment delivered to the camps, in 2011 we heard of an opportunity to create a team and take them to compete in a tournament for non-FIFA teams in Iraqi Kurdistan”.

“First of all, soccer brings them joy. The value of that is immeasurable. Their lives are difficult, and there is a loss of hope, as they see the world leave them behind. But soccer keeps them connected with that world and with a sense of hope”, Gabriel expressed. “The Darfur United Team offers hope and gives Darfuris a vehicle to tell their stories to the world.” It was named “Darfur United”.

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Moubark Abdallah Daud
Darfur United midfielder

An American charity came to the refugee camp in Chad. They told us: ‘We are going to try to win the World Cup for minorities in Sweden.’ We lost four out of four matches, conceded 61 goals, but we got to meet great people from all over the world. It was dark when we sneaked out of the hotel. The last night of the tournament. We took a taxi, gave the driver all the money we had. Ten thousand Swedish crowns. We told him to drive us to the Migration Agency in Gävle. We thought that was the only office of the Migration Agency in Sweden, 390 kilometres from where we were.
Us players thought it was much better to flee by plane. Otherwise you have to pay a lot of money and walk too long, take risks across the Mediterranean.
We were lucky. We were notified that we could stay in Sweden a few days before Christmas Eve. Now we want to live in a house together, practise football, sleep and eat together. Life will be good.
So now Darfur United, the football team that was started in the refugee camp in Chad, has moved to Sweden, since we all fled to here.

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Mark Hodson
Darur United coach

Mark has been involved with US Youth Soccer for the past 19 years, and has helped to develop and support the success of a significant number of players, teams, and clubs across the country during that time.
Mark’s roles within the Beach FC organization are South Bay Director, and Head Coach to the Girls 2007. His goal is to continue to support the success of the club on and off the field, as Beach FC works hard to establish itself as the premier youth soccer organization in the US and beyond.v Born in England, Mark studied Physical Education at the University of York St. John. On completing his degree, He began working in the education pathway for youth players at various professional football clubs throughout the UK. These clubs included Middlesbrough, Burnley, Wigan Athletic, Darlington Town, Exeter City, Torquay United, Mansfield, Rochdale, and Plymouth Argyle.
In 1999 Mark moved to Long Island, NY to Coach with MLS Camps in their youth training programs — and so began Mark’s coaching career in the US.
Having coached extensively on both coasts, Mark has enjoyed a fantastic journey working with thousands of youth soccer players and many clubs and organizations, at all levels of the game.
In 2004 Mark relocated from NY to Los Angeles to serve as the District Leader for MLS Camps, working closely with many MLS franchises — including the LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake — developing and implementing their youth training programs. Mark has great experience in developing Youth Soccer Organizations in the capacity as both Director of Coaching and through his own International Coaching Company, that services numerous Youth Soccer Organizations across the US. Mark joined Beach FC is 2014 and considers it to be one of his best decisions in his coaching career. Outside of US Youth Soccer, Mark also serves as head coach to an International refugee team called Darfur United, and has led them into competition in a serie of world tournament, which has seen the team travel, train and compete in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Mark Lives in Hermosa Beach with his wife Ashley and two young children Willamena and Kingston.

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Ismail Gamaradeen
Darur United goalkeeper
"Like any other day, Ismail’s mother was walking to their village’s market one fine morning, when all hell broke loose. On that infamous day, a few days before civil war broke out in the Darfur region of western Sudan, the pro-Government militia gang of Janjaweed attacked civilians. Major armed conflict in Sudan started in February 2003 when the rebel groups of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) revolted against the government of Sudan to protest against the growing oppression of Darfur’s non-Arab citizens. Janjaweed is the notorious Sudanese native militia group that mostly recruits indigenous Afro-Arabians. The Sudanese Government used it against rebel groups and civilians when insurgence escalated in 2003.
Ismail’s father was shot and badly hurt right in front of his mother.
As he lay on the ground—dying—Ismail and his mother came and sat next to him, desperately seeking aid and trying to give him some relief. Ismail’s father foresaw the miseries awaiting his family. He asked his wife to take all their seven children and escape this death zone. Ismail asked his mother to find the other young children, and he went to collect some animals for the long walk towards Chad’s border.
Unfortunately, his father died. The mother and her seven children managed to survive, and all of them now live as refugees in Chad. “You know my mother. We met before”, Ismail uttered in broken English. They were in an aeroplane, flying to Iraq. He had a small Polaroid picture in his hand; he was looking at it and was showing it to the other man sitting next to him. That was his mother with his other siblings in the picture.
The man identified his mother. He had met Ismail before, when he was younger. Such coincidence!
Ismail kept telling him their stories, about their homes, and their lives in the refugee camp. Ismail was flying to Iraq in 2012 to participate in a world football tournament.
The VIVA World Cup is an international football tournament organized by the New Federation Board for teams not affiliated with FIFA. It was held every two years. Ismail was one of the two goalkeepers of the team, and a born leader.
Yes, you read it right. The Darfur refugee camp has a football team of its own! The team members have endured unbelievable hardships of the vast refugee camp of Chad, escaping from the terror of genocide. Yet, they have continued to play—for their life, for their existence.