A few months ago, thousands of people stood on the sidelines of a football pitch in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, watching breathlessly as 22 players competed for the title of 2026 Rohingya champions.
Collective cheers and roars rippled through the audience as players from the Inn Din team pushed the ball closer to the goal, turning into an almighty roar when it hit the net.
It was the final of the month-long tournament organized by the RRRC, with teams representing regions across Rakhine State from which the refugees came, capturing the imagination of young and old alike.
For Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, football is more than a game. It is a rare moment of pride and connection in a camp where people from different regions and socio-economic backgrounds have lived side by side for nearly a decade.
Sport, even in the midst of friendly rivalry, has the power to strengthen communities, inspire positive change, and ignite hope. Hope that is nothing short of vital in a displacement situation that has kept people in limbo for so long.
Life-saving
As humanitarian funding cuts deepen worldwide, the definition of ‘life-saving assistance’ has become increasingly central to the question of what activities must be prioritized for the limited funds available.
When resources dwindle, such exercises leave humanitarian organizations scrambling to preserve programs they know make a difference for refugees.
Beyond shelter, food, water, sanitation and basic education, the definition of what is truly life-saving becomes less clear.
For women in difficult home environments, safe spaces to connect with others are essential. For people with disabilities, community-based engagement programs can mean the difference between living and merely surviving.
For young people, youth groups can steer them away from the dangers of crime and towards a better future.
For anyone visiting the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, the sheer number of children and adolescents immediately catches the eye. More than half of the 1.2 million refugees are under the age of 18, and 19% are youth between the ages of 15 and 24.
These young people are going through a critical period of growth in their lives, a time normally marked by graduations, choosing a path in life through study, or the excitement of a first job.
The reality in the refugee camps is, however, vastly different.
When they fled Myanmar in 2017, none of these young refugees imagined they would come of age in displacement, with minimal access to advanced education or pathways toward work and independent livelihoods.
They are now nine years older. Nine years spent inside the camps as their whole world.
The near-complete absence of sufficient higher learning and livelihood opportunities not only leaves many young people without financial independence or meaningful ways to spend their days, but it also deprives them of the peer learning essential for social development and finding a place in society.
Teamwork, conflict resolution, respect for diversity, and professional conduct are skills we carry with us throughout a lifetime.
Peer networks led by trusted mentors can open discussions on sensitive themes such as gender equality, organized crime, the dangers of negative coping mechanisms like gambling or drug use, and the impact of bullying.
These networks are critical avenues for young people to become an active part of their community and contribute to social cohesion.
Protection messaging
The Sport for Protection program implemented by UNHCR and our partners creates exactly this kind of safe space. Through four weekly days of structured play and physical activity led by refugee coaches, young people gain relief from anxiety and safe avenues for emotional expression.
These activities are followed by a one-day classroom-based session focusing on life skills, which can be a powerful platform for disseminating protection messaging, strengthening resilience, addressing psychosocial stress and raising awareness on rights.
For women and girls, the Sport for Protection program can be a lifeline, providing a protected space where they can participate freely, build confidence, challenge sociocultural barriers, and find peer support in cases of harassment or violence.
On April 6, the world marks the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace under the theme “Sport: Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers.”
The day highlights sport’s unique capacity to foster connection, inclusion, and peace in an increasingly fragmented world.
In Cox’s Bazar congested refugee camps, this is undeniably true.
Yet the program’s vision doesn’t stop at addressing challenges in the present. It looks toward a horizon where young people use these soft skills and psychosocial strengths to rebuild their communities in a post-refugee scenario.
Everywhere I go, in Ukhiya, Teknaf, or on Bhashan Char, Rohingya refugees tell me the same thing: They want to return home.
Voluntarily, safely, and with their rights fully restored.
While the solution lies in Myanmar, renewed waves of violence in Rakhine State have forced nearly 150,000 more people to flee to Bangladesh since early 2024, a stark reminder that conditions of safety and respect for human rights are not yet present for them to return.
When such return eventually becomes possible, it will be the young adults who will drive the practical reintegration of their community, rebuilding not only the physical structures of villages left behind but also relationships with local leaders, neighbours, decision-makers, and institutions in a homeland deeply scarred by violence.
These young people will be the heart of their communities. As teachers, nurses, shopkeepers, builders, and businesspeople, they will have to learn how to fit into a country that so violently rejected them in 2017.
They need soft skills not only to navigate today’s overcrowded and challenging camp environment, but also to build a future for their community.
Sustained support from the international community is essential to ensure that Rohingya youth can navigate life in today’s overcrowded camps and thrive when the moment comes to continue their journeys beyond displacement.
If the world truly wants to resolve the protracted displacement of the Rohingya, it must not only urgently step up efforts to end the conflict in Myanmar and create conditions for safe return, but also recognize that education, skills, and dignity are not optional add-ons to humanitarian aid, but fundamental necessities for resilient, fulfilling lives.
Ivo Freijsen is the UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh. UNHCR is one of more than 150 humanitarian partners supporting and protecting some 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in the country. As the UN agency mandated to protect refugees, UNHCR leads the overall coordination of the Rohingya response.