Swiss to host Inter-migrant football contest

Around 120 asylum seekers and refugees in Switzerland will next week compete in a football tournament organised with the backing of UEFA, organisers said Wednesday.

This first "inter-migrant" contest is being organised by Hospice Generale, a Geneva-based charity established in 1535, together with local authorities in the town of Nyon, where UEFA, the governing body of European football, is headquartered.

The migrants will be divided into 16 teams of 10 players each, said the project's coordinator, Michel Nicolet.

"They mostly come from Eritrea and Ethiopia. There are also Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and West Africans," he said.

Nicolet explained that the players live in centres in Geneva, Lausanne and Nyon. They include asylum seekers and others whose request for asylum has been granted.

The contest kicks off on September 15 on pitches outside UEFA's headquarters.