By Jonathan Barber

JUSTICE Football Club United is a local Sunday league team made up of 18 nationalities formed in 2013 to help refugees, asylum seekers and anyone in the community who shares the common goal of playing football.

“The team is bound like a family,” said John Yarro who has been manager since the team was created and is himself a refugee from Cameroon.

“What is special about the team is the way we support each other. This team is to help people get together and stay out of crime.”

Yacouba Traore, captain of the team and from Ivory Coast, explained how much the club means to him and his team-mates who are from around the world, many refugees and asylum seekers from Africa.

“The team spirit is fantastic- this team makes you forget about a lot of things back home.

“It makes you feel at home here as you can joke with other players, it is a great opportunity. The staff are fantastic,” he said.

Justice FC is currently top of the highly competitive Stockton Sunday League Division 2 after scoring an impressive 39 goals from seven games. Highlights of the season have been beating Billingham FC 6-5 and Blytheholme FC 5-4. Top scorers are Famara Jatta, Vasile Bucuresteanu and Dimitri Kehi with 31 goals between them in all competitions.

Ken Clark, who is secretary of the Stockton Sunday League and also helped arrange friendlies for JFC last season, praised the team and explained how welcoming the league are of every visiting team.

“JFC United have been welcomed into the league and as such are proving to be a well organised and disciplined team," he said.

“As a Charter Standard league we promote respect and fair play and welcome anybody into the league no matter their background is.

“As for asylum seekers and refugees we have no problem."

JFC have also enjoyed lots of previous success, including winning the Teesborough League Division 1 in 2013/2014 but when that league folded, JFC joined the Stockton Sunday League for the current season.

Other winnings for JFC include the Justice First five-a-side tournament in both 2014 and 2015, as well as another small sided tournament which they won in Manchester in June.

Stephen Barber, who dedicates a lot of his spare team to be the club’s secretary, made it clear how rewarding it is for him to be part of JFC United.

“My favourite part of the team is seeing everybody enjoying themselves on a Sunday playing football, even players who are not playing or not part of the team on that particular day turn up and support and cheer the team on and are as happy when the team wins as those who play the game.

“It’s certainly more than a football team, I was talking to one of the players, Famara and I said to him ‘do you ever miss Africa?’ and he said ‘No I don’t miss Africa because Africa is here now and now I’m part of this team and I’ve got all my friends that play in this football team.”’

Playing for the team is clearly more than just about football and this is the case for the refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and local players.

Defender Benjamin Ssebuufo introduced a free-to-join music group to the team and the chance to play instruments such as the Kora which originates from West Africa.

The team also attends many events together such as joining as one for an Eid party in July which brought together all manners of faiths and was held at the house of brothers Famara and Yusupha Jatta who regularly play for the team and are from Gambia.

“This team has created a community of people who often go out and enjoy their time outside of the football club,” said Stephen Barber who is joined on the JFC committee by Mary Frankland, Eddie Harkins, Linda Harkins and John Yarro.

Justice Football Club play at The Robert Atkinson Centre, Thorntree Road in Thornaby and their next fixture is at home to Sportsmans FC this Sunday in the North Riding County Cup.

For more information about JFC United or Stockton Sunday League, visit their respective websites at www.clubwebsite.co.uk/jfcunited and www.stocktonsundayleague.org.uk.

PLAYER PROFILES:

GOALKEEPERS

Yusuf Shamusideen

37 year-old Yusuf is originally from Nigeria and arrived in the UK in 2012. He is the first choice goalkeeper for JFC, playing for the team since 2014. He has featured in every single game so far this season and works for SK Food in Middlesbrough.

Rob Cooney

18 year-old Rob is from Ingleby Barwick and joined the team after hearing about it from friends. Rob has grown in confidence since beginning training and is hoping to make his first appearance for the team soon. Rob works as an apprentice for JH Mechanical Services.

DEFENDERS

Didier Emomo Makili

Didier is a 33 year-old centre-back who is originally from DR Congo. Didier joined the team in 2014 and has been a regular ever since, playing in six of JFC’s seven games so far. Didier is currently seeking asylum and is studying an electrician course at Stockton Riverside College.

Erik Musaka

Erik is a 30 year-old defender from DR Congo who has played for the team since 2014. Despite recently moving to London, Erik still sometimes come back to play in matches and aims to play once a month! Erik most recently played in the 6-2 victory over The Oxbridge in September.

James Peter

James is a 21 year-old defender who is originally from Nigeria, arriving in the UK in 2011. James has two children and invited the team to join him for the recent christening of his new born baby. James joined in 2014 and can play in a variety of positions, playing at centre-back, full-back and also as a winger.

Mohammed Sallieu Bah

Mo is a 29 year-old defender who is from Sierra Leone, playing for JFC since the team was formed in 2013. Mo recently celebrated the birth of his child and the team are delighted for him. Mo has played in every game this season, scoring two goals.

Patrick Barber

28 year-old Patrick is from Ingleby Barwick and attended the team’s first ever training session in 2013. He has two brothers in the team- Anthony and Jonathan, as well as being the son of club secretary Stephen Barber. Patrick is an English teacher at St John’s school in Bishop Auckland.

Yrus Kehi

22 year-old centre-back Yrus is from Ivory Coast and arrived in the UK in 2013. He plays for the team alongside his brothers Cedrick and Dimitri. Yrus has played for JFC since the club’s first season and has scored one goal so far this season.

Abdoul Kader

Kader is a 19 year-old defender from the Ivory Coast who also sometimes plays as a winger. Kader joined the team in 2014 and has grown in confidence, becoming known now as a joker in the dressing room and rarely misses training.

Benjamin Ssebuufo

‘Benjo’ is a 30 year-old defender, originally from Uganda who joined the team recently ahead of the new season. He has set up a music group which offers free lessons to any willing members of the public, including many members of the team.

Mohammed Muhaddin

36 year-old defender Muhaddin is originally from Somalia, arriving in the UK in 2011. He has played for the team since 2013 and his son Mustapha is a big JFC fan, attending many games. Muhaddin is a factory worker in Middlesbrough.

Yusupha Jatta

Yusupha is a 22 year-old defender from Gambia who began playing for the team in 2013 as a winger but now regularly plays as a full-back. Yusupha’s brother Famara also plays for the team and together they hosted an Eid party in July which many team members attended

Haji Makame

‘Antonio’ is a 26 year-old centre-back who is originally from Tanzania and regularly brings his two sons along to watch games. He has just recovered from a serious injury which kept him out for a number of months, making his comeback against Thornaby Aerodrome.

MIDFIELDERS

Anthony Barber

26 year-old Anthony from Ingleby Barwick is joint captain and is the son of club secretary Stephen Barber and the brother of players Patrick and Jonathan. Anthony is a primary school teacher at St Patrick’s in Thornaby and has scored two goals this season.

Famara Jatta

21 year-old midfielder Famara is originally from Gambia and is the younger brother of defender Yusupha Jatta. Famara has scored eight goals already this season from central midfield and earned three man of the match awards so far. Famara also hosted an Eid party with his brother Yusupha in July.

Florin Carciun

Florin is a 22 year-old winger joined the team in 2015 ahead of the current season and is from Romania. He plays for the team along with his younger brother Vasile Bucuresteanu and has scored three goals so far this season.

Yacouba Traore

21 year-old captain Yacouba is from Ivory Coast and arrived in the UK in 2011. He is studying at Teesside University and has worked as a volunteer for the National Citizen Service. Yacouba has scored one goal so far this season and earned one man of the match award.

Ali Abdullah Mohamed

Ali is 21 years old and originally from Somalia, arriving in the UK in 2013. Ali, who is a big Middlesbrough fan, has played for the team since it was formed and has scored a number of important goals, scoring one goal so far this season from four appearances.

Dimitri Aime Kehi

21 year-old Dimtri is originally from Ivory Coast, arriving in the UK in 2012. He plays for the team alongside his brothers Cedrick and Yrus Kehi and was the team’s top scorer in 2013/2014 with 33 goals. He has also scored seven goals so far this season.

Jonathan Barber

18 year-old ‘Jono’ from Ingleby Barwick is the youngest player to play for the team, making his debut aged 16. He is the son of club secretary Stephen Barber and is brothers with players Patrick and Anthony. He has scored two goals so far this season.

Cedrick Kehi

21 year-old Cedrick is originally from Ivory Coast, arriving in the UK in 2008. Cedrick’s brothers Yrus and Dimitri also play for team and they have all played played since 2013. Cedrick is yet to make an appearance this season but has been an important player over the past two seasons.

FORWARDS

Vasile Bucuresteanu

‘Felix’ is 19 year-old striker from Romania who plays for the team along with brother Florin. He has been in remarkable form in his first ever season playing with JFC, scoring 15 goals in just six appearances and earning three man of the match awards.

Kevin Ntembe Moroni

Kevin is an 18 year-old forward from DR Congo who is now a British citizen. Kevin has played for the team since 2014 and is studying a Mechanics course at Middlesbrough College. Kevin’s younger brothers often come along to watch him play on a Sunday morning.

Kalagban Oulare

Oulare is a 26 year-old striker who is originally from Guinea. Work commitments at KFC mean he is often forced to miss matches on a Sunday. Despite this, Oulare actually played and scored in the team’s first ever game, an 8-4 defeat to The Centurion back in 2013.