Reuben College is Oxford's third College of Sanctuary and the first for graduates. It has hosted 10+ refugee scholars and now backs Oxford Phoenix football club.

Reuben College has become the University of Oxford’s first graduate college to be named a College of Sanctuary, for its work with people forced from their homes. It joins Somerville and Mansfield as the university’s third.

The college announced the award on 20 October. It was given by the University of Sanctuary Committee, part of the national Universities of Sanctuary network run with the charity City of Sanctuary UK. Reuben says it is the first college to receive the status through the committee’s formal awards process. (Reuben College, 20 October 2026)

What the college has done

Reuben took its first students in 2021. Since then, the college says:

  • it has welcomed more than 10 Sanctuary Scholars through the university’s Refugee Academic Futures and Crisis Scholarship programmes
  • its founding president, Professor Lord Tarassenko, set up the university’s graduate scholarship scheme for Ukrainian refugees within weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022
  • it has submitted a three-year plan for deepening its work with refugees, which the assessment panel commended

Lord Tarassenko is the grandson of a refugee from eastern Ukraine. He said the award was “an important milestone, but also a commitment to continue that work”.

The part that reaches the rest of Oxford

The college’s work also reaches beyond the university. In September, Reuben formally began supporting Oxford Phoenix Rising CIC, which runs free football sessions for refugees and asylum seekers in Oxford. (Reuben College, 23 September 2026)

Oxford Phoenix started in 2021. Through Oxford Phoenix Football Club, players also get help making friends, settling into the city and working towards supporting themselves, the college says.

Reuben says it will help the club towards financial self-sufficiency and find new ways for students to get involved.

Youcef El-Barhdadi, the club’s founder and chairman, said: “Through football, we’re creating a space where people from different backgrounds can come together, build friendships and feel part of Oxford.”

What it means for you

  • A new Friday league. The college said in September that a Phoenix Community League would run on Fridays through the university’s Michaelmas term, with teams from the university and the wider Oxford community invited to enter.
  • The money goes to the club. The college says all proceeds from the league go to Oxford Phoenix’s work.
  • If your team wants to play, or you want to support the club, the college’s Sanctuary page lists its contacts for this work.