REWINS

Sport Saved Me: The Inspiring Journey of Kimia Alizadeh & Selen Gülcan Özbilen

Published: 3 April 2025
Projects: News, REWINS

How Sport Became a Lifeline for Two Refugee Athletes

For many, sport is a game. ForKimia Alizadeh, an Olympic taekwondo athlete from Iran,andSelen Gülcan Özbilen, a middle-distance runner from Türkiye, it was survival. Theirjourneys are marked by resilience, defiance, and the unbreakable spirit of athletes whorefuse to be defined by their circumstances.

A Fight Beyond the Arena

Kimia Alizadeh made history as the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal intaekwondo at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But behind the glory was a struggle againstrestrictions that limited her freedom as an athlete and as a woman. Choosing to leave Iran in2020, she sought the opportunity to compete without barriers, becoming a member of the Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

For Selen Gülcan Özbilen, running was always her passion, but displacement disrupted hercareer. Forced to leave her home, she found solace on the track, proving that talent anddetermination know no borders. With sheer perseverance, she continues to chase herdreams, representing refugees in international competitions.

Sport as a Platform for Change

Sport has given Kimia and Selen more than just a place to compete—it has given them avoice. They represent the thousands of displaced athletes worldwide who fight for the rightto play, compete, and dream. Their stories highlight the importance ofinclusion, equity,and the role of sport in rebuilding lives.

Breaking Barriers, Inspiring Generations

Through their journeys, Kimia and Selen have shattered stereotypes and inspired a newgeneration of athletes facing adversity. Their message is clear:No matter where you comefrom, sport can be your future

Rewins

Published: 16 September 2021
Projects: Projects, REWINS

REWINS is a 24-month project designed with a goal to encourage social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport, specifically for refugee women.

The main project aims for REWINS are to promote a positive attitude towards refugee women in sports, identify refugees’ barriers and good practices for participation in local sport activities, provide opportunities for refugee women at grassroots level, raise awareness of the refugee population and mobilise better inclusion of refugees in local sports organisations.

The direct target group for the project will be refugee women age 18 and over, along with coaches and local communities. Outputs will include the development of training courses for coaches and the formation of women’s football teams in the selected partner countries, based on the methodologies of the training courses.

Partners in this project are: Organisation Earth (Greece), Girl Power Organisation (Denmark), Polisportiva San Precario (Italy) and the Fare network. The Fare network is lead partner in this project.

Read More

REWINS Partners launch Training Course for coaches working with refugees

Published: 10 June 2021
Projects: News, REWINS

Fare network together with the REWINS partners: Organisation Earth, Polisportiva San Precario and Girl Power Organisation is proud to present the REWINS Training Course for sport organisations and coaches working with refugees.

The Training Course can be used to deliver seminar and training courses around the following themes:

  1. EU Health Enhancing physical Activity Guidelines (HEPA Guidelines),
  2. Addressing refugees/ Asylum seekers’ issues,
  3. How to approach women participants/ Gender equality issues,
  4. Strategies and methodologies to include people from different cultures in the sport activities.

The document offers detailed information on the themes, related good practices from Europe and non-formal educational sport activities around culture, identity, teamwork and cooperation.
Seminars for coaches working with refugee women were held in Greece, Italy, and Denmark where the four topics were discussed and further developed in the Training Course based on the feedback.
REWINS was a two-year project, funded by the European Commission under the Small Collaborative Partnerships grant focused on increasing participation of refugee women in football and
development of activities and material for coaches with working with refugees.

You can access the Training course here.

Read More

Girl Power hold a festival to celebrate European Week of Sport

Published: 16 September 2020
Projects: News, REWINS

On 20th September, Girl Power celebrated the European Week of Sport by organising a one-day sports festival for girls and women from many cultural backgrounds, with the main focus being on immigrants and refugees. 

The event started with music, fun football and basketball games, along with a football freestyler show, and a workshop for mothers.

After a series of games with a DJ playing music in the background, a mini football tournament took place where all the participants were divided into small groups. There were special prizes for each team, which were handed out at the end of the tournament. 

More than 60 women and girls from different age group participated at the event, receiving a jersey with a goodie bag, snacks and drinks on arrival. 

The participants enjoyed the event, with many saying in their feedback that they would like these activities to happen more often.

Girl Power and European Week of Sport collaborated well together, and EWOS Denmark raised awareness about the event on their SoMe channels.