Bayern Munich will donate €1m (£729,000) to help refugees and will set up a training camp for those arriving in Munich, as the numbers of people coming to the city rises.

Thousands have crossed into Germany via Hungary and Austria with Munich’s train station one of the main points of entry.

The plight of people fleeing conflict in their own countries such as Syria, as well as others escaping poverty, has become a major political and social issue in Europe, and the Bundesliga champions have responded.

“FC Bayern see it as its social responsibility to help those fleeing and suffering children, women and men, to support them and accompany them in Germany,” the Bayern chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said in a statement.

Bayern’s youth academy will set up the training camp for children in conjunction with the city of Munich, and apart from regular training, it will also offer meals and German language classes.

The senior team will be accompanied by children when they enter the pitch for their next home game against Augsburg on 12 September with the club also planning a friendly with €1m of revenue going towards helping refugees.

“FC Bayern is taking a stand and I am happy about the club’s involvement,” the Munich mayor, Dieter Reiter, said. “That is why I happily approved the city’s support.”

Germany expects to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year, four times more than in 2014, Germany’s labour and social affairs minister, Andrea Nahles, said on Thursday.

The wave of people arriving in Europe and Germany has sparked an outpouring of sympathy and acts of solidarity in the country from clubs and football fans alike. Banners with “Refugees welcome” and “Welcome to Germany” were visible in almost every Bundesliga match last week while many teams have also invited refugees to watch their games from the stands.

The German Football Association (DFB) on Wednesday issued a video message condemning any attacks on refugees or on their accommodation in Germany as well as any form of xenophobia. A friendly game against a “Refugees United” team next week is also planned with DFB employees.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/