Cricket helps Afghan refugees feel at home in Hamburg

With the help of a portable batting net and a set of heavy-duty plywood planks, a group of young Afghans in Hamburg turn the gravel track that surrounds a school football field into a serviceable place to play cricket. It's hardly Lords, but it'll do.

As residents of a local refugee accommodation center, these cricket enthusiasts have limited means to pursue their passion. Even though their social workers didn't know what cricket was, without their help, Noor Ahmad Wahidi and his friends wouldn't have had a chance.

Wahidi is captain of the Neuland Lions, Hamburg's newest cricket team. It is comprised of Afghan residents of the Neuland refugee center. In his maroon polo shirt, embroidered with the logo of the local cricket association, he certainly looks the part.

On the day of DW's visit, Noor and his brother Nazir are celebrating an anniversary. "It's been a year to the day since we arrived in Germany," beams Noor, delighted to play the sport he loves.

Taliban rule changed everything

In Afghanistan, cricket is king. It's the country's favorite sport and the one in which it most excels internationally, but since the Taliban took over in 2021, women have been banned from participating in sports.

For Noor and Nazir, who were forced to leave their country on the Taliban's assumption of power, the country's men's cricket team remains a source of pride. But the brothers haven't given up hope for their female compatriots.

"I watch all the games of my country. I love to support them," says Noor. "Afghanistan is the only country that has full membership of the International Cricket Council, but doesn't have a women's team."

"I would love [for us] to take this big step," he adds.

Cricket growing in Germany

Across Germany, cricket is a niche pursuit, but there has been some growth in recent years, driven largely by immigrants from places like Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

"They have the biggest part to play," says Siegfried Franz, president of Cricket Hamburg. "It's fantastic that they are here and brought our sport, their sport, along with them."

"Siggi," as he's known to local players, is one of a few Germans of his generation to whom this sport means a great deal. He first encountered it as a young man, having met some local students while staying at a youth hostel in Liverpool.

When social workers from the Neuland refugee accommodation center contacted him earlier in 2024, Franz didn't hesitate to help. He initially lent some spare plastic stumps and bats, followed by a larger donation financed by a collection among colleagues at Cricket Hamburg.

"I know what it feels like to be new in a foreign place, and that's how these boys feel," says Franz. "It's great that cricket gives them a home."

On Franz's suggestion, the Neuland Lions were incorporated into the Harburger Turnbund, a sports club in the district that enabled them to compete in domestic leagues and train alongside existing squads. They've already played their first matches and garnered the attention of local press.

"This is integration," says Franz. "Indians train Afghans, all set up by Germans."

Lessons from Germany

The sport has given the Neuland Lions an outlet into life beyond the confines of their accommodation center. It has also provided them with a chance to learn a few lessons about prevailing habits in their adoptive country.

"Sometimes our ball-hitting noises disturb the neighbors, and they shout at us, telling us to stop or they'll call the police," laughs Nazir.

"Germany is a strange country when it comes to sports," reflects Franz. "Everyone always wants to watch on TV but gets upset if there's something going on on their own doorstep."

The sanctity of Sunday silence isn't the only feature of local life to which the cricketers have become accustomed. For those with ears to hear it, there's a linguistic tell, which is all the proof Franz needs that the Afghans are well on their way to integration.

Thanks to their enthusiastic embrace of the local North German dialect, the Neuland Lions seem to be honorary citizens of Hamburg already.

"You arrive at training in the evening, and all the lads say, 'Moin!'" Franz says. "That's all the payment I need for the work I do."

Edited by: Jonathan Harding