Ever since he was a child, one of the biggest dreams of Farzad Hashemi, a dental medicine student at UCP in Viseu, was to see Cristiano Ronaldo play live. On September 5, the Universidade Católica, in collaboration with the Portuguese Football Federation and the Portuguese Olympic Committee, made it a reality.

“Seeing Ronaldo in action is a moment I'll carry with me forever,” says the young refugee. The same game was attended by Malik Omary, a Masters student in Communication Sciences in Lisbon, who could not hide his enthusiasm for the “game of titans”, although he wanted Portugal to win.

Daniah Alkaram, a Social Work student and refugee, watched the match side by side with her 7-year-old son Emad, who “dreams of becoming a footballer and has Cristiano as his greatest idol.” Grateful for the unforgettable opportunity for her son, Daniah said: “Seeing Ronaldo on the pitch will be a great incentive for him to continue pursuing his dreams.”

Farkhunda Kargar and Fawzia Habib, Nursing students, Nilofar Elham, a Political Science and International Relations student, Narges Erfani, accompanied by her mother, Roqia, and Sam Izadloo, a Medicine student, also watched the historic moment of the Portuguese star's 900th goal.

On September 8, UCP provided a similar experience to some other refugees: Sohail Amkar, Sajad Kargar and Mustafa Hussaini. In the stands of the Sport Lisboa e Benfica Stadium, the students watched the Portugal-Scotland match and the tribute to the Portuguese Olympic and Paralympic missions, which won 11 medals at Paris 2024.

For Hussaini, a freshman at the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, seeing Cristiano Ronaldo play, his “childhood legend”, was “another dream come true.”

The Universidade Católica Portuguesa Refugee Student Support Initiative would like to thank the Portuguese Football Federation and the Portuguese Olympic Committee for this opportunity to create happy memories with our students.