2023-06-27 17:10:44
Par Isaac Fanin et Kevin HandBBC Sport Africa
an hour ago
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Cameroon striker Ajara Nchout was born in the town of Foumban, near the border with Nigeria.
Cameroonian Ajara Nchout hopes to use football to inspire young refugees fleeing Islamist insurgents.
On World Refugee Day, exactly a month before the start of the Women’s World Cup, the Inter Milan forward opened up about her trip to a refugee camp in Minawao, in the far north of his country of origin, near the border with Nigeria.
There, Nchout told BBC Newsday she found families who were already adjusting to a different life – and encouraged them to allow their daughters to play football.
“If your daughter wants to play football, you have to let her,” said the 30-year-old, who has scored eight goals in 20 appearances for her country.
“Some Muslims don’t want women to play football, but they can become a legend tomorrow. In life, you don’t know what can happen tomorrow.”
“For me, it was a very good thing to go there to talk to them.”
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image caption,
Minawao refugee camp in Cameroon opened in 2013 and currently hosts 60,000 people.
The Minawao camp opened in 2013 to help people fleeing attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.
Initially built to accommodate 10,000 people, it currently houses 60,000.
“Some of them talk about their life and the difficulty of living there,” says Nchout, who took on his new role in association with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Born in Foumban, near the Nigerian border, this question is close to her heart.
“I grew up in a family of four [enfants] and whenever I have something to give people, it’s a great pleasure to do it,” she said.
“That’s why I was very motivated to do this job with UNHCR.
“I want to help people, I want to make them happy. That’s why I took my courage in both hands and did this job.
Nchout joined Inter Milan in 2022 from Atletico Madrid after playing in the United States, Sweden and Norway.
Her hopes of making it to a third consecutive World Cup ended when Cameroon failed to qualify for this year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand, despite Nchout scoring the Indomitable Lionesses’ goal in their 2-1 defeat in the play-off final in qualifying against Portugal in February.
She decided to dedicate her time to charity by participating in a gala match with refugee women in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.
“Football is a very important job that brings everyone together,” Nchout said. “Thanks to my job, I can make a lot of people happy. Most of them watch me on TV.
“I want to understand the situation and how they came from Nigeria to Cameroon, if they are happy to be here. I also want to make them understand that Cameroon is their country and therefore they must live as if they were in Nigeria.
“Every time we play against Nigeria it is a great pleasure. I tell Cameroonians to help them adapt because it is not easy.
“Nigeria is like Cameroon: we are friends. That’s why I said I wanted to show them that they are at home.
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