The report says sessions run twice weekly and bring together children, parents, grandparents and other relatives. Many families initially arrive without knowing anyone, gathering in separate groups. Over time, football becomes the opening conversation; food is shared, phone numbers exchanged and relationships continue away from the pitch.
This is community football in its most purposeful form. The programme reportedly supplies kit, experienced coaches, technical activities and competition, while recognising that parents need a place in the routine too. Organisers even stopped using whistles after finding that the sound could trigger traumatic memories for some young people from war zones.
The Simbas were created by Farkhunda Muhtaj and Karen Scott during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report identifies Muhtaj as a professional player and former captain of Afghanistan, with her own family having fled war before settling in Canada.
Her football leadership later took on a far more urgent meaning. In 2021, after the Taliban returned to power, the report says Muhtaj helped coordinate routes, documents and WhatsApp communications in an effort to move Afghan players, coaches and relatives to safety. More than 300 people were reportedly assisted in reaching Portugal - a reminder that football networks can become lifelines when formal routes collapse.
Muhtaj’s definition of success is deliberately different: “É a quantidade de vidas que você impacta positivamente,” she says. The programme is judged not by medals or professional contracts, but by the lives changed.
The next challenge for the Scarborough Simbas is sustaining that safe, welcoming space as Toronto’s football spotlight grows. Its most important fixture may remain the one played every week: helping a newcomer family feel at home.