THEY'RE female 'Refugees' who love their weekend football.

But contrary to what the team name may suggest, they aren't made up of exiled foreigners.

Instead, they're really just normal folks excited about playing together.

'When we entered the National University of Singapore, the squad had girls from science, arts, engineering, business and other courses.

'It was a bit like seeing 'refugees' from everywhere, so I guess that explains the name,' laughed Lindsey Tan, 23, a civil servant.

Before they entered university, the Refugees were already regular fixtures in their alma mater, Tampines Junior College.

'Our PE teachers held a 11-a-side Women's Soccer Open in 2001,' explained the team's captain, Nadirah Farhanah, 24, a senior prisons officer.

'So we quickly formed a team with girls from different classes and named it Refugees.'

Call it beginners' luck, but that hastily assembled side emerged the tournament's runners-up that year and champions in 2002.

And it even spurred them to participate in other tournaments targeted specially at women, such as the Singapore Management University's annual Diva La Futbol.

'Winning the competition wasn't as important as the realisation that women's football was really coming alive in Singapore,' Nadirah enthused.

And you could say that the girls have witnessed the growth of local women's social football through the years.

After all, in recent years, more initiatives have been mooted by schools and associations to encourage the sport among the fairer sex.

Little exposure

'It was a lot harder to find female football teams six or seven years ago,' said Tan.

'Girls were less open about the idea of playing football and there was very little exposure.'

Today, the Refugees see about 13 regulars who drop by the NUS football field for friendly kick-abouts.

'Our team is still evolving as we always welcome new additions. Players come in and leave all the time,' observed Nadirah.

'We even had a player who was our top-scoring striker but signed on to become an air stewardess and left us.'

Interestingly, the squad also sees some curious male players keen on a slice of the female-dominated action.

Like Alvin Ong, 25, a sales developer and Azean Nara, 21, a national service- man.

Ong joined the Saturday sessions purely by chance - his 24-year-old sister, Serene, is a Refugee.

'I wanted to support her and at the same time, I was curious to see if she could really play football,' he said.

However, Ong joked that after playing with the team for a year, the Refugees still need improvement in some key areas.

'Sometimes, the girls never pass the ball to one another and hold it too long,' he said. 'So the guys playing at the back get no chance!'

Azean, who is friends with team captain Nadirah, was a lot more forgiving.

'Playing with the Refugees has become a training session for me. I also play for another team on Sundays,' he explained.

'It's good practise to run around with others who love football too.'

Of course, the girls don't mind the presence of males in the squad and relish the challenges that come with it.

'Some of us started out playing football at void decks and basketball courts with boys. So it's no big deal and I think it makes the game a lot more interesting,' explained Nadirah.

One thing's for sure though - the Refugees cannot wait to strap on their boots and wreak havoc each week.

'Our jobs can get really boring. There's no adrenaline rush when you do research in a lab,' laughed Jasmeet Kaur, 24, a chemist.

'That's why we really look forward to Saturday morning and text message one another to remind ourselves when it's nearing.'

Certainly, for now the Refugees are contented with taking part in tournaments and having a ball of a time with one another.

After all, if there's one thing they actively seek 'refuge' in, it's clearly the beautiful game.

The writer is a freelancer