SDGs of Interest
"Sport has always been a constant in my life - first as a personal passion, and later as a powerful tool for resilience, dignity, and opportunity."
Sport
⚽ Football
Philanthropy & Social Engagement
Tamer Abou El Alla has consistently used sport throughout his humanitarian career as a vehicle for inclusion, dignity, and community cohesion, particularly in support of refugees and displaced populations across Greece, Cyprus, and Romania. His work reflects the broader vision promoted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), recognising sport as a meaningful instrument for protection, wellbeing, and social cohesion.
His engagement has included:
- Contributing to the organisation of a high-profile friendly match involving Barcelona Legends and PAS Giannina, bringing together refugee and local children and helping establish pathways for talent identification and integration into local football ecosystems. Several young players subsequently joined local clubs and attracted the attention of major teams, including Olympiacos.
- Identifying and supporting talented young athletes in Moria, Lesvos, including a basketball player who later played professionally with Aris, several football players who joined local teams, and refugee athletes who ultimately reached Olympic-level competition in swimming.
- Facilitating access to training, coaching, and sporting opportunities for refugee youth through field coordination work with UNHCR Greece, using sport to rebuild confidence, dignity, and social connections.
Nationalities
Career Highlights
🥇 Gold Medallist, 1995 North Africa Greek Schools Competition, Cairo, representing Greek diaspora schools.
⚽ Trained with the Juan Ramon Rocha academies in Athens and played for Agios Thomas Athens and the Athens regional team.
🌍 Nearly five years with UNHCR Greece, working across protection monitoring, community-based activities, cash-based interventions, reception support, and cultural mediation.
🏛️ Current Reception & Site Management Expert and Asylum Information Provision Expert for the European Union Agency for Asylum in Cyprus and Romania.
Professionnal Activities
- Reception & Site Management Expert — European Union Agency for Asylum, Cyprus.
- Asylum Information Provision Expert — European Union Agency for Asylum, Romania.
- Former UNHCR Greece officer working across protection monitoring, community-based activities, cash-based interventions, reception support, and cultural mediation.
- Contributor to sport-for-inclusion initiatives connecting refugee communities with local sporting ecosystems.
Portfolio
📍 Greece — Barcelona Legends Match & Refugee Talent Pathways
Through his work with UNHCR, Tamer contributed to the organisation of a friendly match involving Barcelona Legends and PAS Giannina, bringing together refugee and local children through football. Beyond its symbolic significance, the initiative helped establish a concrete talent identification pathway connecting young refugee players with local clubs and sporting structures.
Several of those young athletes later joined teams including PAS Giannina and attracted the interest of Olympiacos and other major clubs. The initiative demonstrated how sport, when approached with seriousness and continuity, can become a tangible mechanism for integration, confidence-building, and long-term opportunity.
📍 Lesvos, Greece — Field Work & Athlete Support in Moria
Working in one of Europe’s most challenging reception contexts, Tamer identified and supported talented young athletes among the refugee population in Moria, Lesvos. His efforts contributed to a basketball player reaching professional level with Aris, supported several football players in joining local clubs, and helped create opportunities for refugee athletes who ultimately competed at Olympic level in swimming.
These experiences reflect a consistent commitment to recognising displaced individuals not merely as beneficiaries, but as people with talent, ambition, and the right to pursue their aspirations through sport and inclusion.
