Cricket: When sport unites immigrants, refugees and Greeks

Text and photo credit: Nasos Μπράτσος
The sport in Greece, was born many years ago on corfu soil, but was not developed especially, since it was in the “shadow”…
other sports. Today, gradually gaining new friends.
Due to the γηπεδικού problem, the matches are usually held when the football stadiums don’t host other events. So on January 2, 2017 at the municipal stadium of Nea Ionia, Attica, greece, we had the opportunity to watch the racing business and to get a picture of the consisting of Pakistanis group P.C.C. Athens.
The cricket is quite prevalent in immigrants and refugees living in our country, precisely because it is quite popular in their countries of origin, in contrast with Greece. So the cricket teams, largely staffed by the immigration item.
This is yet another case of the sports apart from entertainment and health, it contributes to strengthening the relations between the immigrant communities, keeping their ties and cohesion.
In our country, the sport is represented by the Greek Cricket Federation (EL.The.K.) which with a special legislative bill is based in Corfu and was established in 1996.
As stated on its website: “The cricket is a calm team sport, which is characterized by the almost perfect functionality, evident nobility appearance and performance, peaceful development as well as from real high sport spirit. It is a sport without extremes dominated by disciplining the requirements of the strict regulation, in a civilized atmosphere of players and spectators.
Cricket appears historically in Greece for the first time in Corfu, which was under English occupation, on the 23rd of April 1823 with a game between officers of the British Navy. Teenagers, Locals, and even the adults of that era, enticed by this kind and calm entertaining team game and showed great interest in learning, while the English for their part, volunteered with pleasure to teach and to spread the word. As of this moment, and then it took only 12 years for the corfiots to learn the game and to create two local groups to play with the British”.
Source