Retired footballer Bjørn Heidenstrøm's widely supported cycling tour is now taking him through the vast continent of Africa to raise awareness of refugee issues.

World refugees are getting some support from one Norwegian footballer’s unorthodox World Cup travel plan.

THIS year's FIFA World Cup will be the first held in Africa, and former footballer Bjørn Heidenstrøm is doing his best to make his trip to South Africa a memorable one. The Norwegian is cycling and hitchhiking to the tournament from Oslo in an effort to raise awareness of refugee issues, using the generosity of what he enthusiastically refers to as “the football family” to help smooth his path.

When Helsinki Times caught up with Heidenstrøm he was in the Sudanese capital Khartoum plotting his next move with the experience of a man who has already passed through three continents on his epic journey.

“From here I'm heading to Ethiopia, to the capital Addis Adaba,” Heidenstrøm explains. “The UNHCR will help me out there and show me some of their work. And then the route will be south to Kenya and then to Tanzania. I'm not an Africa expert, so once I get to Tanzania I will ask the locals how best to proceed from there.”

Heidenstrøm has created and utilised an immense amount of goodwill towards his project, which is supported by Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini, Francesco Totti, FC Barcelona, FIFA, UEFA and pretty much everyone who has heard about it, from the world's northernmost football club Svalbard Turn to Al-Merreikh, a team from Khartoum.

Football Family

From individuals Heidenstrøm asks for publicity and “pairs of eyes” on his blog, website, Twitter feed and other social media platforms. From football clubs he wants as many shirts as possible, preferably signed. These can be sent by supporters, groups of friends, a five-a-side team even – Heidenstrøm only asks that they contain the initials “FC”, meaning football club. The shirts will then be turned into a giant symbol to be displayed at the tournament.

“We had 10 Finnish clubs help us when I passed through Helsinki, either through donating a shirt or by offering me a place to stay,” says Heidenstrøm. “The football family has been so welcoming and understanding, because they know that just a little thing can help so much, and they're happy to give what they can. Here in Africa they know that every African boy dreams of becoming a footballer – not a pilot, or a president, but a footballer. This game is incredibly powerful.”

Heidenstrøm first became aware of the power of football when he retired from professional football and moved into the media and marketing side of the game. There was a lot of sponsor-relations work, a fair bit of schmoozing, but what he really enjoyed was finding ways to harness football for social goals through collaboration with third sector organisations. These partnerships found an outlet in the Soccer Against Crime and Válerenga Against Racism projects, but then Heidenstrøm's wanderlust got the better of him.

Impressive

“We Norwegians have a tradition of large and small expeditions,” continues Heidenstrøm. “I did one smallish expedition in collaboration with the Norwegian Red Cross, and then I decided that something bigger was needed, and would be fun. This is the result.”

“This” has become an impressive project. Heidenstrøm does not raise funds, he only counts people made aware of the project, and mentions an astounding figure of 40 million in our conversation. The goals have received a mixed reaction from those outside the football family.

“It has been okay, but many people here in Sudan for example ask why I have to focus on the problems, on the civil war, and not project a more positive image,” Heidenstrøm comments seriously. “To them I reply that, yes, I do, because in my country and probably in Finland, too, people make such a fuss about a few hundred refugees a year arriving. In Sudan they have 500 every day, and they have nothing!”

“There are children who were born in camps and who have spent decades there, so our small contribution to help these people is not a problem,” continues Heidenstrøm, now hitting his stride. “If these critical people could come and see how things are for refugees here, they would understand. They simply don't have any other choice than to try and leave, it is not that living in cold Northern countries is any kind of paradise – these people have no choice!”

EGAN RICHARDSON - HT
Unhcr - SHOPPER