Intro:

Football is being used as a tool to lift sprits in Syrian refugee camps

Script:

It's been said sport, and football in particular, is like a language in itself.

The game has the capacity and global reach to change things for the better.

And that's what's happening in the Az Zaatari camp in Jordan, where football is being used as a tool to lift the sprits of children.

Kilian Kleinschmidt, who works with the UN Refugee Agency, explains.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Kilian Kleinschmidt, Zaatari camp manager (UNHCR)
"We have a cooperation with FIFA, with UEFA with various football associations , Norway has been very generous. So what we are trying to do here is to create a culture of sports, a culture of competition, let's say a healthy competition."

The Az Zaatari region, some 12 km from the Syrian borders, is home to the camp which was opened in July 2012.

Its massive population of 144,000 makes it Jordan's fourth largest city.

Donations of footballs, nets, clothes and various equipment have flooded in, but more is needed.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Kilian Kleinschmidt, Zaatari camp manager (UNHCR)
"Let us not forget that there are more than 11.2 million, 1.3 million children somewhere out there plus all the youth, I mean so many people who need our attention , so may people who need to get out of this war war mentality , out of the negative spirits they came across the borders with , so lets us at this moment not only look at the camp , lets us provide all the facilities, the necessary facilities for these hundreds and hundreds of thousands of children and youth who have have to do something positive."

With many of the young, displaced people in the camps surrounded by negativity, a simple game of football can go a long way to offering hope and putting smiles back on these sad faces.