• Aston Villa and Swindon Town fans first to follow German counterparts • Stan Collymore: ‘Our great club could and should do our bit to help’

Supporters’ groups in England are looking to follow the example set by their German counterparts in holding aloft “Refugees Welcome” banners at home matches in response to the crisis gripping Europe.

Bayern Munich to donate €1m to help city’s refugees Read more

Inspired by support and offers of practical help from fans across Germany in recent weeks, Aston Villa and Swindon Town fans became the first to say they planned to hold aloft such banners amid attempts to coordinate support via social media. Villa supporters plan to send a message supporting refugees during their televised match at Leicester City on Sunday week when the teams meet after the international break. Similar banners have already been spotted at non-league matches involving Kingstonian and Dulwich Hamlet, as well as at FC United games. The Premier League said there was nothing in its rules to prevent clubs from welcoming the banners into their stadiums.

The former Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore is among those supporting the campaign to show solidarity with those entering Europe after fleeing war zones in Syria and elsewhere. “I remember Doug Ellis and our team taking aid to Bucharest in 1997 ahead of playing Steaua, and also Birmingham is a vibrant multicultural community,” he said. “I think our great club could and should do our bit to help.”

The organisers of a campaign on Facebook and Twitter (@RefugeesEFL) said they had been directly inspired by the images in Germany. “The German fans using “Refugees Welcome” banners was a big inspiration,” said Dena Nakeeb, who is organising the Facebook campaign. “It’s not just the imagery behind manly blokes holding banners supporting an issue which is so poignant at the moment. It’s the fact we as the British public are showing solidarity.”

Clubs across Germany have organised schemes to invite refugees to come and watch matches and collect clothes and donations, while banners calling for understanding and integration have become a regular feature in the Bundesliga at almost every club. On Thursday Germany’s biggest club Bayern Munich announced it would raise €1m to help refugees arriving in Europe and set up a training camp for those arriving in the city. Munich train station has become one of the main points of entry for those entering Germany through Hungary and Austria.

“FC Bayern sees it as its social responsibility to help those fleeing and suffering children, women and men, to support them and accompany them in Germany,” said the club’s chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Bayern’s youth academy will set up the training camp for children, in conjunction with the city of Munich. Apart from football training, it will also offer meals and German language classes.

First-team players will be accompanied by refugee children when they enter the pitch for Bayern’s next home game against Augsburg, with the club also planning a friendly with the aim of raising €1m. “FC Bayern is taking a stand and I am happy about the club’s involvement,” said the Munich mayor, Dieter Reiter. “That is why I happily approved the city’s support.”

Inspired by their German counterparts, English fans are using Facebook and Twitter to try to follow suit. In Scotland Celtic’s foundation said it would donate a portion of the proceeds from a weekend of events to mark the 30th anniversary of Jock Stein’s death. Among other events, a team of Celtic Legends will play Dunfermline at East End Park on Sunday.

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“Having seen the effects of this humanitarian crisis unfold in recent days, we felt as a club we should help in any way we can,” said Celtic’s chief executive, Peter Lawwell. “Celtic was established as a football club to help people in need and this ethos remains a fundamental part of our club almost 130 years after our formation. None of us can understand the true horrors of this situation but as a club we wanted to show our support for those affected.”

Across Germany Bundesliga clubs have launched a range of schemes to try to foster understanding. Borussia Dortmund invited 220 refugees to watch a Europa League match as part of the city’s “Angekommen in Dortmund” (Arriving in Dortmund) campaign. Schalke invited 100 refugees to their first home game and released a video showing one of their best-known former players, the Ghanaian Gerald Asamoah, talking about the importance of tolerance and understanding. Bayer Leverkusen have started a project called “Bayer 04 macht Schule” (Bayer 04 does school) where the focus is on helping refugee children to join the club. Werder Bremen have founded a “Bleib am Ball” (Stay on the Ball) project to help refugees in the region, while both Hannover and Hoffenheim have delivered kits and shoes.

Dynamo Dresden’s chairman, Robert Schäfer posted a statement on the club website stating: “Hospitality, respect and openness towards asylum seekers follows directly on from sporting values held by our teams. Refugees come to us because they are persecuted in their homelands for their beliefs and fear for life and limb at home. As sports clubs we want to show these people that, after all they have suffered, they are welcome in our midst.”

Germany’s national team also released a video to show their stance against violence and racism, with the team manager, Oliver Bierhoff, saying they were keen to send a message.

Meanwhile the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, and shadow culture secretary, Chris Bryant, said they had written to national cultural, religious and sports organisations to ask them to play their part in welcoming more refugees to Britain in light of the escalating crisis.