The narratives of the Socceroos can be traced back to the grassy fields of Australia during the 1990s and 2000s, where a group of eager young footballers began to embrace the game. These moments were filled with matches, makeshift goalposts, and quartered oranges, as friendships blossomed over the seasons.
Their rise to the international stage is a complex journey that nations have invested millions trying to refine, often through elite academies and talent scouting initiatives. This process is commonly referred to as the talent pathway.
Yet, before one Socceroo’s tale commenced, there was no established path.
Amara and Mawa Touré, the parents of striker Mo Touré, were still children when civil war erupted in Liberia in 1989. “Everything went helter-skelter, and every Liberian started running for their life,” Amara recounts.
With his younger brother and older sister, Amara trekked for 18 days to reach the Guinea border, surviving on wild fruits and vegetables while staying alert to avoid encounters with others. “But now when I reflect on it, it would have been even scarier if I knew the ramifications of what we were going through. Because it was life or death.” he adds.
“Football was everything for me,”
Amara spent nearly 14 years in Guinea, where he received initial support from UNHCR, including food, a tent, and a mosquito net. Although he eventually moved from a refugee camp to slightly better living conditions, his life remained limited.
“When I walked on to the park, I felt that is where I got to demand my respect, and that’s where I felt good. So my sanctuary was only football.” he shares. “Every parent wants one’s child to go into something that they like and they excel at,”
Amara and Mawa crossed paths at the age of 20. They welcomed their first son, Al Hassan, followed by Mohamed—now known as “So when I would see them playing football and they’re entertaining people, I can’t afford not to be happy.”—before relocating to Australia on humanitarian visas. Both sons have since become Socceroos.
“Wearing the Socceroo jersey represents freedom,” Amara reflects. “It was the land that gave us opportunity, that lent us a helping hand, so every time I just play, I play with freedom and I always remember how things could have been if we weren’t in Australia.”
Mo, donning the No. 9 jersey at this World Cup, shares, “It’s just something that happens and for us. It’s, I wouldn’t say normal, but it’s common. We see a lot of our family members or a lot of the African community have similar stories and everybody came and migrated to Australia in a different way. So we’re just happy to share our story and then people find out how we did it.”
The four refugees on the Socceroos roster—Touré, Nestory Irankunda, Awer Mabil, and Milos Degenek—have gained visibility during the globally recognized refugee week, highlighted by the upcoming United Nations’ World Refugee Day on Sunday.
They have participated in a video for the Socceroos promoting cultural diversity, and the Touré family collaborates with the local charity Australia for UNHCR to assist displaced individuals. This effort includes sharing their family’s story of hardship.
Mo explains, “My early life in Australia, I thought it was good because I didn’t know better,”
Mo was just seven months old when he and his family arrived in Australia in 2004, settling in Croydon, a suburb in Adelaide’s inner west. “I can now see that there were times in my childhood where my parents struggled, but I was too young to really understand.” he recalls. “I just thought it was them [his parents] punishing me or them not wanting to do it,”
At times, while others in the neighborhood received gifts or treats, the Touré boys felt left out. “But now that I’m older, I understand the struggles, and the real reason why we didn’t have all these things was because simply it was hard. Life was hard at that time.” Mo admits. “It would be raining, and my parents would be there, freezing, waiting for us to finish training,”
Transporting three young footballers was no small feat, especially since at least one of them had training almost every day of the week. “When we were very young, they would take our boots off before we got in the car as they didn’t want mud in there. Oh man, the next day they [would have to] clean the car [anyway].” Mo recalls. “Wearing that green and gold and going there and fighting for that country, to me, is the greatest thing I can ever see them do.”
Australia now acknowledges their sacrifices. Al Hassan made his Socceroos debut last year, taking the field alongside Mo in a friendly against Venezuela. Although only Mo was selected for the current World Cup, the family supported him in Vancouver as he played a pivotal role against Turkey. “This is our country now,” Amara states. “Wearing that green and gold and going there and fighting for that country, to me, is the greatest thing I can ever see them do.”
