Now, in a bid to bolster integration in the country, they are planning a refugee-only "Asylum League," designed to facilitate integration through competition.
Asylum-seekers from accommodation centers across the country will be able to form their own football league. The idea was the result of a recent collaboration between the Danish Football Union, the humanitarian Tryg Foundation and the Red Cross. Per Bjerregaard, former head of Brøndby IF and the man behind the project, said that the main idea is to ease integration.
"The project can contribute in a number of areas," Bjerregaard told TV2 News. "Asylum-seekers will both get exercise and variety in their everyday lives and gain access to other Danes and associations in Denmark. In this way we can facilitate integration through football."
"Football is wonderful because almost anyone can kick a ball, regardless of their language," he told TV2. "Besides, it would do asylum-seekers good to keep their heart rates up and get their mind on something else after having experienced so many hardships."
According to Koch, the project would also help create opportunities for asylum-seekers to stay in Denmark and find jobs.
"Being part of an association is a vital for getting a residence permit and continue integrating," said Koch. "Good networks are often built through sport, and we all know that about three quarters of all jobs come through personal networks."
"In the long run it would be if this league expanded out to other European countries. Who knows, maybe it could even have the same structure as the Champions League," Kasper Koch said.
The competition in Demark is slated to kick off in August.
Last year, Denmark, a nation of 5 million, accepted "only" 20,000 refugees, an exploit which pales in comparison to Sweden's liberal share of over 160,000 asylum-seekers.
