Özil marks Ramadan with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar camps

Former Germany international plays football with displaced children as Turkish delegation highlights education and youth programs.

By Abdullahi Yusuf

Former Germany international Mesut Özil marked the first day of Ramadan by meeting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar, where he played football with children living in one of the world’s largest refugee settlements.

Özil took part in a youth football tournament organized inside the camp by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Türkiye’s state-run development agency. 

Video shared online showed the former Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder joining informal matches with Rohingya children, drawing large crowds of spectators from within the camp.

The visit formed part of a broader Turkish delegation that included Bilal Erdoğan, chairman of a Turkish foundation and son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as TİKA President Abdullah Eren. 

The delegation toured a multipurpose education and cultural center funded by TİKA, visiting classrooms, a computer and robotics workshop, and music facilities before distributing gifts to students.

At the closing ceremony of the 3rd Rohingya Football Tournament, Özil joined children on the field and later presented awards to winning teams. Hundreds of refugees attended the event, which camp organizers described as an effort to provide structured recreational activities for young people growing up in prolonged displacement.

More than one million Rohingya Muslims live in camps across Cox’s Bazar after fleeing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State beginning in 2017. 

With limited access to formal employment and restricted mobility, humanitarian agencies and foreign donors have increasingly focused on education, psychosocial support and youth engagement programs to address what aid groups describe as risks of long-term marginalization.

TİKA has operated in the camps since 2017, implementing projects ranging from education centers to health and skills training initiatives. During the visit, delegation members also attended an iftar meal with a Rohingya family, marking the first evening meal of Ramadan.

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