Awer Mabil

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Awer Mabil
Mabil playing for Australia at 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name Awer Denis Bul Mabil[1]
Date of birth (1995-09-15) 15 September 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth Kakuma, Kenya
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)
Winger
Team information
Current team
Grasshoppers
Number 21
Youth career
St Augustines
Playford City
Salisbury East Junior Soccer Club
2010–2011 SA NTC
2012–2015 Adelaide United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Campbelltown City 14 (1)
2013–2015[3][4] Adelaide United 47 (8)
2015–2022 Midtjylland 108 (16)
2016–2017Esbjerg fB (loan) 25 (4)
2017–2018Paços de Ferreira (loan) 26 (2)
2022Kasımpaşa (loan) 11 (2)
2022–2023 Cádiz 5 (0)
2023Sparta Prague (loan) 14 (2)
2023– Grasshoppers 12 (4)
International career
2014–2015
Australia U20
9 (4)
2015
Australia U23
6 (0)
2018–
Australia
32 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2023

Awer Bul Mabil (born 15 September 1995) is a professional

Australia national team
.

Mabil played youth soccer at the South Australian National Training Centre and with

A-League
for Adelaide United in 2013.

He is co-founder of the humanitarian charity Barefoot to Boots, which aims to improve health, education, and

Young Australian of the Year
.

Early life and education

Mabil was born on 15 September 1995

2022 World Cup qualifier, Mabil said "I was born in a hut, a little hut. My hotel room here is definitely bigger than the hut, the room we had as a family in that refugee camp".[10]

Mabil attended St Columba College throughout his teenage years in Adelaide,[11] graduating in 2013.[12]

Club career

Youth

Mabil played in youth teams at

Playford City;[4] SA NTC (2010–2011);[3] and Salisbury East Junior Soccer Club.[4][14]

Adelaide United

Mabil made his senior debut at

He made his Adelaide United senior debut on 11 January 2013 in a

season, after coming on as a substitute in the second half.

FC Midtjylland

In July 2015, Mabil secured a move to

Napoli FC, coming on for Mikkel Duelund in the 73rd minute.[citation needed
]

He has said that when he went to FC Midtjylland he began to appreciate the seriousness of the game, and to develop a winning mentality. Initially he was not getting much game time, and the club sent him to two clubs on loan to help develop his skills and a winning mindset.[19]

Loan to Esbjerg fB

In August 2016, Mabil was loaned to Esbjerg fB to allow him to get more game time and develop.[20][21] Mabil made his debut on 8 August 2016, starting the match against AGF but was sent off in the 44th minute.[22] Esbjerg was relegated to the Danish 1st Division, and Esbjerg announced that Mabil was one of nine players who would be leaving the club.[23]

Loan to Paços de Ferreira

In July 2017, Mabil was loaned to Paços de Ferreira to allow him further first-team opportunities.[24] Paços de Ferreira were relegated at the end of the 2017–18 Primeira Liga season; however, Mabil impressed while on loan, scoring twice and providing a further three assists in 26 league appearances.[25] He still follows the club.[19]

Return to Midtjylland

Mabil returned to Denmark in 2018 a more mature player,[19] and had a strong start, scoring a goal and registering two assists in his first six appearances of the season.[26] On 11 November 2018, Mabil scored two and set a further two up in Midtjyllands 5–0 win over Vejle, taking his season tally to four goals and eight assists.[27] He worked his way into the first team squad.[19]

On 30 September 2020, he assisted Sory Kaba's headed goal with a cross in a 4–1 home win over Slavia Prague in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League play-off round that qualified Midtjylland for their first UEFA Champions League.[28] He scored his first Champions League goal on 25 November that year against Ajax from the penalty spot in a 3–1 defeat.[29]

Loan to Kasımpaşa

In February 2022, after being sidelined at Midtjylland owing to his unwillingness to sign a further contract after seven years in Denmark, Mabil was loaned to Kasımpaşa in Turkey until the end of the season.[30]

Cádiz

In May 2022, it was confirmed that Mabil had signed to Spanish La Liga club Cádiz for four seasons.[31][32] However in his first half season for the Andalusian club he only made six appearances, averaging merely 40 minutes of playing time per game.[5]

Loan to Sparta Prague

In January 2023, Mabil was loaned to Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic.[33] He made a total of 14 appearances for Sparta, scoring two goals and assisting for three,[5] contributing to Sparta becoming Czech champions.[34]

Grasshopper Club Zürich

On 21 August 2023, he joined Swiss record champions Grasshopper Club Zürich on a two year contract with an option to extend for a further year.[35] He made his debut for the club on 2 September, replacing Dorian Babunski at half-time of a 2–1 away loss to Stade Lausanne Ouchy.[36] On 7 October 2023, he received his first starting lineup nomination and repaid that trust with a brace, scoring the first two goals and assisting for the third in a 3–0 away win against Yverdon-Sport.[37] For this achievement, he was named the Man of the Match.[38]

International career

In August 2013, Mabil was called up by Australia for COTIF Tournament in L'Alcúdia, Spain.[39] The tournament was used by the FIFA to prepare players for their successful 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign.[citation needed]

A citizen of South Sudan by birth, he was cleared by FIFA to play for Australia in March 2014 after a year-long process to obtain a birth certificate and gain exemption from FIFA eligibility rules due to his refugee status.[40][41]

He featured for Australia in the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship, playing in all three of their games, the opponents were Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.[42][43][44]

After showing impressive form with FC Midtjylland, Mabil was called up to the senior team for the first time. Participating in the

Socceroos first training camp under new coach Graham Arnold.[45]

On 16 October 2018, Mabil made his debut for the

Australia senior national team against Kuwait in an international friendly match at the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. He came on as a second-half substitution for Mathew Leckie and scored his maiden goal for the senior national team in the 88th minute to give Australia their fourth and final goal in a 4–0 win over Kuwait in Graham Arnold's first match of his second stint with the Australian national team.[46][47] Mabil's goal was assisted by Tomi Juric and Thomas Deng.[48] Mabil celebrated the goal with childhood friend and fellow South Sudanese refugee Deng, who was also making his international debut for Australia.[49] Awer dedicated the goal, post-match, to his mother.[50]

Mabil played in qualifying matches for the

2022 World Cup. In the final "must-win" game against Peru, he scored one of the penalties that secured a place in the competition for the Socceroos. He said that scoring the crucial goal was "the only way to say thank you to Australia on behalf of my family".[10][51]

On 22 September 2022, Mabil scored his first home international goal against

New Zealand in a 1–0 win in a friendly at Lang Park.[citation needed
]

Other activities

Barefoot to Boots

Mabil helped to establish the humanitarian charity Barefoot to Boots with his elder brother[9] Awer G. Bul, and Ian Smith[52] to ensure better "health, education, and gender equality" outcomes for refugees. Mabil returned to Kakuma with the organisation, with the aim of promoting football as well as helping refugees in other ways.[9]

Recognition and honours

In 2018, Mabil was awarded the

International Federation of Professional Footballers at a ceremony in Rome. The award is worth worth US$25,000, to be donated to his charity to continue his work.[53]

In June 2022, on a visit to his old school, St Columba College, Mabil was presented with the 2022 Alumni of the Year Award, in recognition of his high level of achievement in football as well as his service to the community with his Barefoot to Boots charity.[12]

In November 2022, Mabil was announced as recipient of the 2023

Young Australian of the Year award for his home state of South Australia.[54][55] On 25 January 2023, he was named the national Young Australian of the Year.[56]

Personal life

His elder brother is Awer G. Bul, who is director of Barefoot to Boots, which he co-founded.[9]

Mabil's 19-year-old sister Bor was killed in a car crash in Adelaide in 2018.[9]

He went to school with good friend, fellow-refugee and Socceroo Thomas Deng.[57]

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 September 2023[5][58]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Adelaide United 2012–13
A-League
5 0 5 0
2013–14 A-League 20 2 1[b] 0 21 2
2014–15 A-League 19 5 3 1 2[b] 1 24 7
Total 44 7 3 1 3 1 50 9
FC Midtjylland 2015–16 Superliga 6 0 1 0 2 0 9 0
2018–19 Superliga 30 6 1 0 5[c] 0 36 6
2019–20 Superliga 34 8 0 0 2[d] 0 36 8
2020–21 Superliga 21 1 3 0 10[e] 2 34 3
2021–22 Superliga 3 1 0 0 3[e] 1 6 2
Total 94 16 5 0 22 3 121 19
Esbjerg fB (loan) 2016–17 Superliga 25 4 0 0 4[f] 0 29 4
Paços de Ferreira (loan) 2017–18 Primeira Liga 26 2 3[g] 1 29 3
Kasımpaşa (loan) 2021–22 Süper Lig 11 2 0 0 11 2
Cádiz 2022–23 La Liga 5 0 1 0 6 0
Sparta Prague (loan) 2022–23 Czech First League 14 2 2 0 16 2
Grasshopper 2023–24 Super League 5 2 1 0 6 2
Career total 224 35 11 1 22 3 10 2 272 41
  1. Sydbank Pokalen, Portuguese Taça de Portugal, Turkish Cup, and Czech Cup
    .
  2. ^
    finals series
  3. ^ Includes four appearances in the Europa League third qualification and play-off rounds and one appearance in the Champions League second qualification round
  4. ^ Appearances in the Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearances in the Champions League
  6. ^ Appearances in Superliga relegation play-offs
  7. ^ Appearances in the Portuguese Taça da Liga

International

As of 24 March 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia
2018 4 2
2019 10 2
2021 9 2
2022 8 2
2023 1 1
Total 32 9
As of match played 21 September 2022
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mabil goal.
List of international goals scored by Awer Mabil
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 October 2018 Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait 1  Kuwait 4–0 4–0
Friendly
2 30 December 2018 Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 4  Oman 3–0 5–0 Friendly
3 11 January 2019 Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 6  Palestine 2–0 3–0 2019 AFC Asian Cup
4 15 January 2019 Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates 7  Syria 1–0 3–2 2019 AFC Asian Cup
5 2 September 2021 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar 17  China 1–0 3–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 7 October 2021 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar 19  Oman 1–0 3–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 1 June 2022
Al-Wakrah
, Qatar
26  Jordan 2–1 2–1 Friendly
8 22 September 2022
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
, Australia
29  New Zealand 1–0 1–0 Friendly
9 24 March 2023 Western Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia 32  Ecuador 2–1 3–1 Friendly

Honours

Adelaide United

Midtjylland

Sparta Prague

Individual

References

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  2. ^ "Awer Mabil - Player Profile - Football". Eurosport. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Awer Mabil". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. ^
    Adelaide United
    . 9 January 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Awer Mabil at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2019. Edit this at Wikidata
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  7. ^ "Awer Mabil's journey from refugee camp to the World Cup is the stuff that dreams are made of". ABC News. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Returning to the refugee camp". FIFA. 19 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e Keane, Daniel (15 June 2022). "Awer Mabil's journey from refugee camp to the World Cup is the stuff that dreams are made of". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b "From a Kenyan refugee camp to the World Cup". BBC Sport. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  11. Adelaide Now
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  12. ^ a b McNamara, Lindy (23 June 2022). "School honour for Socceroo". The Southern Cross. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  13. ^ "About us". Saint Augustines Soccer Club. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Salisbury East Junior Soccer Club". SAcommunity. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
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  16. ^ "Young Adelaide United gun Awer Mabil up for attack". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
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  19. ^ a b c d "How back-to-back relegations made Awer Mabil the player he is today". Socceroos. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
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  23. ^ Ni spillere på vej ud i Esbjerg, bold.dk, 30 May 2017
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  26. Socceroos
    .
  27. Socceroos
    . 12 November 2018.
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  34. ^ a b "Sparta v euforii! Remíza na Slovácku odstartovala mistrovské oslavy". Sport.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
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  41. ISSN 1170-0777
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  52. ^ "Board". Barefoot to Boots. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
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External links