Former lawyer turned DJ established sports clubs in refugee camps and now aims to outnumber Bayern Munich in membership.

(SeaPRwire) –   At the age of 18, while interning for the UN Refugee Agency in 2004, Jan van Hövell brought a soccer ball to the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana. He described the situation as deeply inadequate, noting that a single ball provided by one intern was insufficient for thousands of idle children.

“I was the one who brought the football, and we would play, connect, and enjoy ourselves,” he recalls. “But I also realized that me bringing a single ball couldn’t be the long-term solution.”

After studying law, he spent five years working in mergers and acquisitions at a prestigious Amsterdam firm—a career that was lucrative but ultimately unfulfilling. In 2016, he resigned and reached out to his UNHCR contacts, asking for an opportunity to work within a refugee community to address the lack of sports facilities.

The UN agreed. To support himself during the startup phase, van Hövell worked as a professional DJ at weddings and corporate events while developing KLABU (Swahili for “club”), which officially launched as a foundation in 2019. The social enterprise establishes sports clubhouses in refugee camps, utilizing repurposed shipping containers equipped with solar panels, Wi-Fi, televisions, and sound systems. Each facility includes a sports “library” where residents can borrow items—ranging from soccer balls and volleyball nets to chess sets and running shoes—allowing thousands of people to share the equipment.

Speaking at the Mews Unfold conference in Amsterdam, van Hövell noted that the average duration of stay in a refugee camp is 21 years, rather than the two or five years many assume. “Children are born and raised in these camps. These are their new homes.” With 120 million forcibly displaced people globally and that number climbing, camps often provide basic necessities like water and schooling but offer little beyond mere survival.

“They require equipment, balls, nets, and proper clothing. While there is water and education, there is nothing more than that.”

KLABU has expanded more rapidly than van Hövell anticipated, now operating 10 clubhouses across Kenya, Bangladesh, Jordan, Brazil, and Mauritania. “We currently have 10 clubhouses, but we are driven by a waiting list of 20,” he said. “We collaborate with the UN and UNHCR, who approach us almost weekly, requesting that we expand to places like Mexico, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. We have a significant amount of work ahead of us.”

The challenge of scale is particularly significant in Bangladesh, where Cox’s Bazar—the world’s largest refugee camp—houses over one million Rohingya. In response, KLABU partnered with Paris Saint-Germain to deploy a mobile clubhouse that travels throughout the settlement, as a single fixed location could not serve the entire population.

In addition to PSG, organizations such as the adidas Foundation, architecture firm MVRDV, hospitality tech company Mews, and Amsterdam-based streetwear brand Filling Pieces have joined the initiative. Mews serves as the primary sponsor for KLABU’s newest site in Boa Vista, Brazil, which hosts the largest shelter for indigenous Venezuelan refugees in Latin America.

Part of the funding model involves the global design and sale of sportswear, which is also worn by those in the camps.

“Instead of them wearing our secondhand Messi shirts, let’s change the narrative,” van Hövell said. “Let’s provide their own shirts and their own club, so they can play the game.” Each clubhouse features a unique badge and kit, with 50 percent of sportswear profits supporting the foundation, aiming for full commercial self-sufficiency in the long run.

In March 2026, KLABU introduced a membership program priced at €1 per month—the exact cost of providing one person with access to a clubhouse. Van Hövell’s goal is to exceed Bayern Munich’s 400,000 members, making KLABU the world’s largest sports club by headcount. “It is incredible what you can achieve with one euro, providing people with a sense of community,” he said. His 2050 target is even more ambitious: 300 clubhouses reaching two million refugees.

“It brings everyone together. It provides the joy and the connection we all need to keep going—that unbeatable spirit.”