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Germany and Arsenal soccer star Mesut Ozil visited the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
The Arsenal midfielder had a tour of the camp and was briefed by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) officials about the conditions the refugees faced. Ozil was soon greeted with great excitement by the children of the camp.
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The Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) has been running various soccer and social development programs in and around the camp in Northern Jordan since 2012, employing the sport as a platform for education, strengthening social cohesion and bringing back a sense of normalcy in the lives of refugees and host-communities, according to AFDP statement.
Mohammad al Zu'bi, a Syrian football coach, said Ozil's visit showed that football stars like him do pay attention to the situation of Syrian refugees.
"A player like Ozil in the camp and famous (individuals) like him gives a motivation for children that the big players are thinking about them and there are players who think about us, care about them at the same time and football is not ignored. Having a big player like Ozil who plays with them and join(s) children as part of a football activity makes us feel that there are people thinking about football in the camp," he said.
Abdul Raouf Khaled, who wore a Real Madrid jersey showing the number 10 and the name of Ozil who once played for the Spanish team, expressed hope that he will be as skillful and famous as Ozil one day.
"My feeling towards Ozil is that I learned some movements from him and this is the first time I play with a famous star like him and I hope to become a star like him ," he noted after he received the German football team jersey from Ozil.
Syrian girls were equally excited about playing alongside a famous soccer player. Khadijah Abdo Suwlim, a 13-year-old Syrian girl, described football as her "favorite game."
"To train with him and to learn and we love football and this our favorite game and we love that he teaches us and we learn from him," she said.
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Following Zaatari, Ozil joined Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Football Association and Founder and Chairman of AFDP, in a visit to Youth City in Amman to meet with Jordanian players.
Ozil, who helped Germany win the World Cup in 2014, is among Germany's preliminary 27-man squad for Euro 2016, the head coach Joachim Loew announced on Tuesday. He is widely considered to be one of the English Premier League's best players and he created more goals than any other player during the 2015/16 season, racking up 19 assists.
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