THE BLUE TIGERS: BUILDING BELONGING THROUGH CRICKET

The Blue Tigers: Cricket, Confidence & Community

What started as a small idea—bringing young Afghan asylum seekers together through cricket—has grown into something truly special.

Over the past few months, we’ve been working with young people from the YMCA, all of whom arrived in the UK as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. United by their shared love of cricket, they’ve become “The Blue Tigers” —a team that’s come to represent far more than sport.

Through regular net sessions, coaching, and practice games, these young cricketers have not only developed their skills, but also built friendships, confidence, and a powerful sense of belonging.

But more than just playing cricket, these moments have been about learning to understand one another—across languages, backgrounds, and life experiences. Coaches, volunteers, and players have all taken time to listen, share, and connect.

We’ve seen bonds form over shared laughter during drills, conversations about home countries during breaks, and mutual respect growing with each session. Cricket has become the common ground—a language everyone speaks—but around it, there’s been a deeper exchange of stories, customs, and culture. Trust has been at the heart of it all: building safe spaces where these young people feel seen, supported, and welcomed just as they are.

It’s in these small, everyday moments that true community begins to grow.

Thanks to the generosity of William Coe & Coes Stores, the team were fully kitted out with shirts, trousers, and shoes—ready to represent themselves with pride in their first official fixture against Ipswich School. And they didn’t just play—they won, by 68 runs!

But beyond the scoreboard, the impact of this project runs deeper. For many of these young people, this is their first experience of team sport in the UK. A chance to be seen, supported, and celebrated.

We’re so thankful to everyone who made this possible:

• Coes and their incredible staff for the kit and warm welcome

• Ipswich School for helping to organize the game and use of facilities.

• Local clubs including Copdock, Kesgrave, Chantry, and East Bergholt for coaching and equipment

• Community Praxis, ICM and the YMCA for their tireless support

• And to Greyhound Creative for helping capture the story through film

have something to call their own: a team, an identity, a space where they belong.

And this is

just the beginn