Comfort Angels
1948. Comfort Etim
Comfort Etim, from Liverpool, founded ‘Comfort Angels’, a football team for women who are seeking asylum and are bonding through the power of sport.
Comfort previously played professional football in Nigeria before coming to the UK, and later secured a place in the Tottenham Hotspur women’s team prior to having two children and moving to Liverpool in 2008. Having lived experience of refugee status and coming through the asylum system, Comfort wanted to create a safe space where other women seeking asylum could express themselves, empowering women through the game and forming a peer support network to help one another with building confidence and handling common challenges and integrating them into the country they now call home. ‘Comfort Angels’ meet every Monday at Tiber Football Club in Toxteth and play their league games at Sefton County FA pitches. With the support of Liverpool County Football Association, LFC Foundation and Amnesty International they won their first tournament in November 2021.
Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Civil Society & Youth, said:
“Sport can be such a powerful force for good and I’d like to congratulate Comfort Etim on their Points of Light Award.”
“It’s a priority of mine to get as many women and girls as possible involved in sport and this group is providing the opportunity to do just that.”
Kim Johnson, Comfort’s local MP, said:
“Comfort Elim is an inspirational woman, a former professional footballer playing both in her home country of Nigeria and in the UK, who then used her skills and knowledge to form ‘Comfort Angels’ to offer support, solidarity and social opportunities to fellow women refugees, helping them to form bonds with each other and the wider community through their love of the game. I am so proud to say that Comfort and her Angels are part of my Liverpool Riverside community, reflecting its diverse make up by bringing together women from 23 different nationalities, creating connections and friendships. Her Points of Light award is testament to her work and very well deserved.”
Comfort said:
“It is my pleasure to serve my community and to be awarded for it is a blessing. I dedicate the Points of Light award to the phenomenal Comfort Angels.”