Mosney United's team includes players from Nigeria, Burundi, Kosovo, Chad, South Africa, Somalia, Croatia, Iran, Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and they have started playing in the FAI's Brian Kerr Inter-Cultural League on Sunday afternoons.

Due to their legal status as asylum seekers, the men living at the former holiday camp are restricted from working or participating in fulltime education, so football is one of the few things they have to pass the time.

Audrey Crawford, a project worker at Mosney who helped set up the team, said, "While the VEC comes in and offers English and computer classes for people living here in Mosney, the men have little else to do, so they play football."

Mosney United was set up a few weeks ago and played a few friendly games before joining a league in Dublin. After missing the deadline to enter the Drogheda league, they joined the Brian Kerr Inter-Cultural League and play each Sunday in St Anne's Park in Raheny, Dublin.

Crawford added, "The team will be playing every Sunday for the next 20 weeks and it provides one of the only integration opportunities for people from the centre.

"People are generally in the asylum process for at least two years but many of them get leave to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds and are awaiting a decision on their deportation from the minister for justice.

"Some people are waiting here for over five years and they are languishing in uncertainty about their future. This can affect their mental health, so the football team helps them and their involvement in the league gives them a direction in life."

Obinna Nuankwo (21) from Nigeria has been in Mosney for eight months and said, "You need something to take your mind off the process you are going through. It is also good to get out of here and meet more people from other cultures and nationalities when we play in the league."

The owners of the Mosney centre have given full backing to the Mosney United team and provide buses to games. Local Eircom League club Drogheda United has donated jerseys to the side.

"I have been living at Mosney for the past six years and we have played football on and off before now, " said Ntsikelelo Duma (19) from South Africa. "It is great that we are now in a league and have a proper team. It gives us something to do and we also get to meet new people when we play in the inter-cultural league on Sundays."

Razwan Azizi (26) from Iran, said: "We would like to get a coach as we have good players here in Mosney. There is a lot of talent and we need a coach to bring that talent together."

Mosney United are currently looking for a coach for their new team. The FAI held a coaching session with the team last week to assess their ability with a view to providing them with further coaching sessions.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune after the session, FAI coach Noel O'Reilly said, "They have some great players and are very serious about their soccer so we are going to look at getting somebody to give them more coaching sessions."

Des Tomlinson, the FAI's new inter-cultural programme co-ordinator, who also watched Mosney United train last week, said "There are many challenges ahead in terms of integration and social inclusion in Ireland but football can provide real opportunities to address these issues.

"Football is a world language and gives people the potential to integrate locally and be part of a global community."