Jack Arts

shado mag and Amnesty: Comfort Angels

Comfort Angels are a Liverpool-based football team formed by Comfort Etim. Providing support for women seeking asylum in the city, the sense of community it provides is now more important than ever.

Having experienced the asylum system herself, Comfort Etim decided to set up a safe space for women in similar situations, resulting in the birth of her Liverpool-based football team: Comfort Angels. In co-operation with Amnesty and the LCFA, the sessions started small, but gradually grew to have a group of 30 women being in regular attendance. Comfort’s persistence and drive empowered her to cultivate a community of her own, enabling her to reach out and support others through their own times of potential isolation.

In defiance of the pervasive and restrictive changes coming to the UK’s immigration laws, and the difficulties it presents for those who want to start new lives in the country, shado mag began its initiative to support to the incredible Comfort Angels project. With the magazine’s broader commitment to social justice, shado lets people advocate for themselves and take control of their own narratives. Their work with Comfort Angels is about exploring “the power of football and community inclusion for refugees and women seeking asylum”.

To platform the project in Liverpool, we teamed up with Comfort Angels and shado to display portraits of some of the team across the city. While capturing the serenity and beauty of solidarity and community, QR codes linked each poster to Comfort Angels’ dedicated section on shado’s website, providing passers-by with the opportunity to donate directly to the team and help secure its future. With Liverpool’s rich and enduring football culture, Comfort Angels is right at home in the city – long may it continue to be.