Outcasts United, the Story of the Fugees Soccer Team

A message of inspiration is coming to Lakewood tonight.

will host a “Community Conversation,” featuring the story of an international soccer squad called the Fugees — short for refugees.

The players on the team come from countries that read like a war-torn atlas: Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Liberia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The team’s coach, Luma Mufleh, will share their story.

Here’s a brief preview: The Fugees’ families were chosen for resettlement in a small town outside Atlanta called Clarkston. The team members — while from many different countries and cultures — share this experience of being caught between worlds, and something else.

Using a bundle of plastic bags and twine for a ball, the boys learned to play soccer in refugee camps.

According to a press release, Mufleh will talk about how the team found ways to connect and cohere across broad cultural divides.

Presented by Facing History and Ourselves and The Allstate Foundation, the event is set to begin at 7 p.m. at Garfield Middle School, at 13114 Detroit Avenue.