logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
43m 13s

Fugees Family: the football team who bec...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The extraordinary coach who started a football team but built something much bigger.

One day when Luma Mufleh was driving home to Atlanta, Georgia, she came across a group of barefoot boys playing football in the street, using a raggedy old ball and rocks for goalposts. They reminded her of how she played at home in Jordan and she asked to join their game. The Fugees Family football team was born. Luma Mufleh has written a book about her extraordinary story, Believe in Them: One Woman's Fight for Justice for Refugee Children.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or Whatsapp: 0044 330 678 2784

Up next
Today
Hold Fast! 8. Our duty is done
As the Avontuur draws closer to Hamburg and its final port of call, the crew begin to reflect on what they’ve been through and what awaits them in their lives back on land. But first, there’s a party to welcome the ship home. Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Se ... Show More
19m 19s
Today
Hold Fast! 7. I want to hug a cow
After 188 days without setting foot on land, the Avontuur finally arrives in Horta, in the Azores. Before the crew can finally get off the ship, there are a few last hurdles to contend with. Ship’s cook Giulia has played her part in getting them here in reasonably good spirits, b ... Show More
23m 48s
Aug 18
Hold Fast! 6. Unicorn poo
As the crew of the Avontuur fight their way out of the Gulf of Mexico and battle a hurricane that delays their journey back across the Atlantic, ship’s cook Giulia faces the spectre of food and gas shortages with ingenuity and a determination to get back home. 15 people, 188 days ... Show More
18m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Jill Scott, footballer
Jill Scott is the second most capped England footballer ever, playing for her country 161 times. Before her retirement last year, she played in ten major international tournaments and was part of the England team who beat Germany to win the 2022 European Championships.Jill was bo ... Show More
36m 51s
Jan 2023
Champions of women’s football
Women’s football is being played in front of record crowds – interest and attendance has soared and the game is flourishing but getting here hasn’t been easy and there are still some significant hurdles to overcome. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two players at the very top of their gam ... Show More
27m 37s
Jun 2019
#48 - Allez les Bleues ! (avec Abdallah Soidri de "Banquette")
Début juin, l’essayiste Alain Finkielkraut déclarait en direct à la télévision qu’il ne regarderait pas un seul match des Bleues. La raison ? “Ce n’est pas comme ça que j’ai envie de voir les femmes”, déclarait-il.Alors, tous deux en ont profité pour se poser d’utiles et nécessai ... Show More
40m 31s
May 2021
Omid Djalili
Award winning comedian and actor Omid Djalili joins us to talk about his route to fame, taking part in Splash, quiz show catchphrases, performing in Persian for the first time recently and getting back on stage after lockdown. In 1974, aged 17, Debbie Gayle travelled to the Sovie ... Show More
1h 24m
Jun 2018
1. How the 1990 World Cup Saved English Soccer
Today, the English Premier League is the richest and most watched league in the world. But rewind to the end of the eighties, and English football was in the doldrums. The national team were crap, the stadiums were crumbling, and there was the threat of violence from football hoo ... Show More
55m 36s
Jul 2022
Jaelin Howell | Soccer’s Next Generation
Like many of us, Jaelin Howell started playing sports before she could even read. Unlike most of us, she went on to rep jerseys for the U.S. National Women’s Team and Racing Louisville FC. On this episode, the up-and-coming soccer star details every step of that journey. She shar ... Show More
29m 29s
Nov 2021
BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2021; Ghislaine Maxwell court case; Adoption breakdown;Anorexia & relationships; Nicola Adams
Vivianne Miedema of the Netherlands and Arsenal has been crowned the winner of BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2021. The annual award from the BBC World Service is voted for by football fans from around the world. She is the all-time leading scorer in the FA WSL (women’s super ... Show More
57m 58s
May 2023
Plaid Cymru & culture of harassment, Egg freezing, Taylor Swift, Lisa Selby & Blue Bag Life, Wrexham and DJ Katie Owen
Plaid Cymru have apologised after a damning review found a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny in the party. The party had "failed to implement a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment" and that women had been "especially" let down. Dan Davies, the BBC Wales Politi ... Show More
55m 57s
Dec 2021
Unstoppable women of rugby
The first female known to have played rugby was Emily Valentine, an Irish schoolgirl, who played alongside her brothers in 1884. It took another 80 years for a women's team to be formed, and the first Women's Rugby Union World Cup was held in 1991. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two wo ... Show More
27m 35s