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For These Refugees, The Road To College Begins On A Soccer Field

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Khalil Aboona (middle) and Sadik Kabera (right) play pick-up soccer. (Erin Siegal McIntyre/KQED)
Khalil Aboona (middle) and Sadik Kabera (right) play pick-up soccer. (Erin Siegal McIntyre/KQED)

In El Cajon, California, hundreds of young soccer fanatics from around the globe are perfecting the art of the back pass, the header and the scissor kick.

But their training is not a soccer camp for international students. All the children live in the U.S. All of them are refugees. And soccer is a means to an end: academic excellence.

From Here & Now contributor KQED, Erin Siegal McIntyre (@ESMcIntyre) explains.

This article was originally published on February 15, 2017.

This segment aired on February 15, 2017.

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