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🇦🇺 Australia /Sports

That viral ‘bulls***’ moment, and how football saved Awer Mabil

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Awer Mabil says football helped him cope with hunger and hardship while growing up in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp.
  • The Australian international, who arrived in Australia as a refugee at age 10, has played at two World Cups and was named Young Australian of the Year in 2023.
  • Mabil says he remains committed to multiculturalism and supports refugees through the Barefoot to Boots charity he founded with his brother.

Awer Mabil made his first football from plastic bags tied into the shape of a ball. In Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, where he was born, the game offered an escape from hunger and hardship.

“Football was 100 per cent an escape for us,” Mabil told triple j hack. “If you’re hungry, you don’t feel hungry because you’re just playing for the moment with your friends.”

We used to collect plastic bags and then tie them up into a ball shape

· Awer MabilMabil recalled making his first football while growing up in Kakuma Refugee Camp.

Mabil and his family arrived in Australia as refugees when he was 10. He went on to represent the country at two World Cups and was named Young Australian of the Year in 2023. Now 30, he has returned to Australia after a decade playing in Europe and signed a three-year deal with Melbourne City.

Football was 100 per cent an escape for us

· Awer MabilHe described the role football played during his childhood in the refugee camp.

He said he is looking forward to settling down and spending more time around family and friends. “I can finally buy furniture that I can keep,” he said, laughing. He also said he wanted to play in front of people close to him, a chance he did not fully take when he was previously in Australia.

Mabil drew national attention after returning from the Socceroos’ World Cup campaign in July and responding to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s calls for a “monoculture” in Australia. “It’s just all bulls***,” he told reporters. He said the response came naturally, adding that he felt strongly about including everyone because diversity makes Australia great.

It’s just all bulls***

· Awer MabilMabil responded to Pauline Hanson’s calls for a “monoculture” in Australia.

He said Australians should not merely tolerate different cultures, but celebrate them. His younger brothers were born in Australia, he noted, and are “more Aussie than anybody else.” Mabil said he had received support as well as hate, but tried not to absorb the negativity. Away from football, he and his brother run Barefoot to Boots, a charity that supplies football boots and equipment to refugees in camps around the world.

I feel passionate about including everybody because that’s what makes Australia great

· Awer MabilHe explained his support for multiculturalism after his comment drew widespread attention.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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