Aware Mabel will complete an exciting journey that began in a refugee camp and extends to the world's biggest sporting event, when he defends Australia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this month, surmounting a personal tragedy on the journey.
The rise of this pavilion from a humble environment is a dream, but the 27-year-old who defends the colors of Spain’s Cadiz has not forgotten where he came from, and says in this regard to the Australian network “SBS” (SBS) “Without a doubt, this matter (his environment) was the basis for me. She gave me a lot of values that I still have today.”
"One of those qualities is humility, to always be humble, that's what I learned from this environment when I was a child," he added.
Born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya after his parents fled war-torn South Sudan, Awer Mabil attained refugee status in 🇦🇺Australia in 2006 aged 11
He scored on his @Socceroos debut today 🙌
A truly amazing moment 😍pic.twitter.com/1AQN83v1yg
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) October 15, 2018
Born in a refugee camp
Born in Kenya in a refugee camp after his parents fled the war in South Sudan, Mabel only had one meal a day while playing barefoot with a plastic ball.
"I was born in a hut, there is no doubt that my hotel room was bigger than the hut my family got in the refugee camp. I want to thank the Australian state for giving me, my relatives and all my family a chance to live."
The owner of the second goal against Palestine and the first against Syria with a superb shot in the second and third rounds of the qualifying rounds for the World Cup in Qatar, said when talking about the “Barefoot to Boots” Foundation (from barefoot to wearing shoes) that he established to provide shoes to children in the camps. My family moved from Sudan to Kenya because of the war in 1994. A year later I was born in the camp, and I lived there for 10 years before moving to Australia with my relatives in 2006.”
🗣 "Recogíamos bolsas viejas de plástico y las envolvíamos para ponerlas dentro de calcetines, o con ropa vieja para que tuvieran forma de balón"
👏💛🌟 ¡No te pierdas esta increíble entrevista a @awermabil17, jugador del @Cadiz_CF!#LaLigaSantander#LaLigaWorld pic.twitter.com/2Jg9SP3bRi
— LaLiga (@LaLiga) October 27, 2022
distress and harsh childhood
In an interview with the BBC, Mabel recounted his family's daily suffering: "Everyone got a kilogram of rice and therefore 4 kilograms for the family and 3 kilograms of grain, so the division was difficult. We had one meal at night, and the rest of the time You have to find solutions on your own."
He started playing the game at the age of five in the Kakuma camp of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and from there he began following the Manchester United team with its legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson by paying one US dollar to watch it on TV two hours from his hut “if I am not able to go.” I had to make sure someone went to tell me the result."
After saying goodbye to the life of distress, he experienced another tragedy when his sister died in a traffic accident during his participation with Australia in the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE, which made him under shock again.
😯 The Awer Mabil free-kick
😱 The Mohammed Al Yami double save#AsianQualifiers |
#AUSvKSA pic.twitter.com/2pNvjdLtCD
— #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) November 11, 2021
"This is my chance"
The harshness of life gave Mabel another chance when he moved to Australia in 2006 as part of a humanitarian program, "I told myself this is my chance, if I work hard, anything can happen, and I can chase my dreams."
Thanks to football, he learned English and began expressing his feelings. At the age of 16, he signed with Adelaide, and won the Cup with him in 2014.
It is true that because of the color of his skin, he faced permanent racism and bullying in his new life, as one of his neighbors attacked him and demanded him to return to his country, but he is proud of representing Australia, "Some people are racist, but this country is for everyone."
Then a new stage in Mabel's life began, so he bid farewell to Australia, which joined the Asian Confederation in 2006, heading to the old continent.
Thanks to his speed and skill in dribbling, he joined the Danish team Midtylland in 2015 at the age of 20, and was loaned in the first two seasons in Denmark and Portugal, where his two clubs were relegated to the second division.
A fall that is incomparable to what the player faced in his childhood, "I left at the age of 19 and was expecting to play immediately. But in fact I was not ready for European football. Relegating twice was mentally difficult for me," he continued, "I will not change that, because what happened made me stronger and more capable. The times I live in now.
He concludes, "Football has served me a lot. I want to pay back the debt to the children. The long-term goal is to make the lives of refugees easier."
💛 Awer Mabil got a special message for you 💙@awermabil17 pic.twitter.com/armmOIoUCC
— Cádiz CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@Cadiz_CFEN) August 18, 2022