Syria Returns to the World Stage

Football as a homecoming

For the second time, Syria takes the field at the SOCCA World Cup, the world championship of six-a-side football. This national team is an initiative of Qanawat – Rebuilding Channels for Syria (WKS), built on a simple conviction: that rebuilding a nation is not only roads and rooftops, but pride, belonging, and the chance for its young people to stand for their country before the world. Assembled from Syrians living across Germany and Europe, the squad turns a scattered generation into a single team under one flag — Identity, Passion, Belonging.

The initiative behind the team

Team Syria is not an accident of enthusiasm — it is an organized initiative of Qanawat – Rebuilding Channels for Syria (Wiederaufbaukanäle Syriens e.V, WKS). Through its Sports & Youth Office, WKS conceived the project, opened the nationwide call, ran the trials and the training camp across Germany, managed the selection, and is backing the squad all the way to Essen. It is part of how WKS rebuilds Syria — not only through infrastructure, but through its youth, their spirit, and their standing in the world.

A story that began in 2023

The journey started at the 2023 SOCCA World Cup, also hosted by Essen. Among 44 nations, a Syrian team — assembled from young men living in Germany just days before kickoff — took the field for the very first time, facing sides like Croatia in the group stage. What began as a fleeting opportunity became a dream: a lasting Syrian six-a-side project. 2026 is its next chapter — this time with open nationwide trials and months of preparation behind it.

What is the SOCCA World Cup?

SOCCA is international six-a-side football, governed by the International Socca Federation (ISF) and contested by national teams worldwide. First held in Lisbon in 2018, the World Cup has since travelled to Budapest, Muscat and Cancún. In 2026 it returns to Essen — whose 2023 edition drew more than 130,000 spectators across ten matchdays and became one of the most celebrated tournaments in the sport's history.

Group C at Essen 2026

The draw on 18 June 2026 placed Syria in Group C, alongside Greece, Ireland and Colombia. Drawn from Pot 4 among a field of dozens of nations, Syria faces a demanding group — and the chance to test a rebuilt squad against established socca nations on the sport's biggest stage.

The coach: Captain Abdulrahman Al-Saket

Leading the squad is Captain Abdulrahman Al-Saket, who took charge of the project in the build-up to Essen 2026. Across a series of interviews — from his own home after the first training phase to conversations with players and parents — one theme recurs: this is about more than results. To the players who tried out but did not make the final list, his message was gratitude, and a call to keep standing behind the team.

More than a game

The team is a project of WKS's Sports & Youth Office — part of a broader mission to rebuild Syria through its people. Sport gives young Syrians what displacement took away: a shirt to wear, a country to represent, and a reason for a community spread across a continent to gather behind one name. Win or lose, the message is the same — Syria is back on the field.

Follow the journey

Moments from the road to Essen — the first trials, the coach, the squad, and the story so far.

Connect with the team

Follow every step, and support the initiative behind it.

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