Maisam Al Sawadi touches the artificial turf at Tim Hortons Field for the first time and he is impressed.

"It's beautiful," says the nine-year-old Syrian refugee, who's in Grade 3 at Cathy Wever School. "I like it more than real grass. It's not long, it's short and nice."

Although he plays pickup games with friends at school, Maisam has never played organized soccer before, but he's only a few days away from getting his chance.

When the second season of the ArcelorMittal Grassroots Soccer Program — for children ages 5 to 13 living in the general vicinity of the stadium — begins at Tim Hortons Field with uniform distribution Tuesday and the first games July 12, it will expand from 100 players to 500.

And 110 of them, more than 20 per cent of the enrolment, will be Syrian refugees who have immigrated to Hamilton in the past few months.

"It's what the program is all about," says John Gibson, president of the Hamilton and District Soccer Association, which started and oversees the grassroots program. "It's lower city programming ... in the best stadium in Canada. Get these kids inside here to see this, get these kids to interact with other kids, that's what it was developed for.

"Canada is very diversified now, we're a country of many ethnicities. I think our city is a melting pot and this is an example of what our city really is."

Maisam's sisters Maria, 11, and Mimas, 7, are happy about being in Hamilton and enthusiastic about playing a sport they've never engaged in before.

"I'm very excited," says Mimas. "I like to play defence."

"For sure, I'm excited," says Maria, "Everything is beautiful here. School, exercise, sports, everything."

Thanks to a $283,000 commitment over 10 years from ArcelorMittal, a further $100,000 over four years from Hamilton Athletic Trust, plus Carstar Canada providing all the soccer balls, there is no cost to the players in Hamilton grassroots soccer.

"It's the access to the sport that's important," says Lily Lumsden, YMCA senior regional manager of employment and immigrant services. She plays soccer with Liz Hooker of the HDSA, which led to the confluence of soccer and brand-new Hamiltonians.

"Soccer is a much-loved sport around the world. And it provides the access to be able to meet new friends and to be able to interact. Improving that social network is really important for the settlement and integration process for the families. It's a sense of belonging, around a sport that everyone knows. It removes the language barriers, it removes all those barriers. You know how to kick a ball, it doesn't matter what language you speak.

"The families are excited, the kids are excited, and I'm excited at the chance to coach the kids."

Islam AlKadah's two children, Mohammad, nine, and Teim, eight, will be playing. Islam himself played the game for nine years in Syria and has already joined a men's soccer league since he and his family arrived in Canada in January.

"They're always ready and want to start the games," he says of his two sons, students at Cootes Paradise Elementary School. "The kids were very young and didn't play back home. Exercise is very important. Sports are very important."

Lumsden says that none of the Syrian children in the program have played organized soccer before, amplifying the anticipation of opening night. But some know about the game's international stars and some have favourite teams, mostly Barcelona and Real Madrid.

And for those like 12-year-old Kassem Mahamad and nine-year-old Amer Al Omari, the uniforms they'll receive are part of the attraction. Amer already wears a jersey he won through a draw at Tim Hortons restaurants.

"I'm very excited about getting the uniforms," says Amer. "I'm really looking forward to that moment."

Steve Milton Sports columnist Steve Milton has covered multiple Grey Cups and Olympic Games. Email | Twitter

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