A group of famous Italian personalities joined forces with the Rome-based refugee team Liberi Nantes and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Italy to highlight the experiences of refugees ahead of the World Refugee Day.[/intro_paragraph]

Champions #WithRefugees consisted of a football match played on 18 June between the Fare Italian member Liberi Nantes and a team of famous personalities, including the former AS Roma and Queens Park Rangers Damiano Tommasi, Rai Sport football pundit and ex-footballer Katia Serra, the Italian actors Francesco Pannofino and Alessandro Gassman, and Diego Bianchi, journalist.

The all stars team was led by the Serie A and Pescara midfielder Sulley Muntari, who earlier this year was praised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein and called an 'inspiration' for abandoning a Serie A match after being the victim of racism.

Liberi Nantes representative Daniela Conti said: "We want this day to be a celebration of the rights of those that were forced to leave their countries and make them feel welcomed."

The event was organised as part of the UNHCR campaign #WithRefugees, which is calling on organisations and individuals to host events on the week around the World Refugee Day to break down barriers to inclusion. It was supported by Italian Football Players Association and AS Roma.