Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
‘Football doesn’t just belong to us: we are the game’
STEWART McGILL reports on the match between Naples and Glasgow's refugee teams in Italy
United Glasgow players in Naples, Italy

Napoli United 2-1 United Glasgow
by Stewart McGill
at the Alberto Vallefuoco stadium, Mugnano, Naples

BACK in December 2021 I was in Napoli doing some research for The Roaring Red Front, a book about the world’s top leftist football clubs and supporters.

While chatting to Pietro Spaccaforno from Napoli United, the team representing the refugee population of Naples, I suggested they play a game against United Glasgow, that city’s refugee team.

The Napoli club was founded as Afro-Napoli United in 2009 by local Neapolitans and two Senegalese immigrants. Its aim is to achieve and promote social inclusion through sport, focusing in particular on the involvement of migrants, asylum-seekers and young people at risk of exclusion living in the metropolitan area of Napoli. The team is now known as Napoli United and plays in the fifth tier of Italian football, La Eccelenza.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Donald J. Trump present the trophy to Spain's Rodri (16) after the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026
Men’s Football / 24 July 2026
24 July 2026

A World Cup full of memorable moments was also marked by exclusion, exploitation and unprecedented political meddling, writes JAMES NALTON

cosmos 2
Men's Football / 3 July 2026
3 July 2026

In the second part of LAYTH YOUSIF’S history of the New York Cosmos, he reflects on their stunning reboot

cosmos
Men's Football / 1 July 2026
1 July 2026

In the first of a three-part series, LAYTH YOUSIF visits a community-driven club in blue-collar Paterson, New Jersey, with a rich heritage that is rising once again 

Newcastle United's Malick Thiaw (second left) scores his sides fourth goal during the Premier League match at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, November 29, 2025
Men’s football / 30 November 2025
30 November 2025