The remarkable story of Yegoian: 'The AZC shaped me as a person'

Excelsior Rotterdam midfielder Yegoian reflects on his journey from refugee centres to professional football after arriving in the Netherlands aged five.

Irakli Yegoian, a Georgian-born midfielder now at Excelsior Rotterdam, has opened up about his path to professional football. He arrived in the Netherlands at age five and spent his childhood in multiple asylum reception centres (AZCs) across the country before progressing through Ajax's youth academy and other clubs. Now a key player for Excelsior this season, Yegoian credits the AZCs with shaping him as a person. A reporter visited one of the centres where he stayed as a child and spoke with him after Excelsior's match against FC Groningen.