Sport opens communication between cultures
Sydney FC is one of the most successful teams in Australia and home to some high-profile players and supporters. The A-League club’s new recruit, Iraqi midfielder Ali Abbas says his football journey has been full of surprises.
Australia as a sporting nation has surprised me in many different ways since I came to live here. It is a great country for sport.
Australians play every sport – which was really surprising for me – and both men and women compete at every level. I think it’s fantastic for sport and for the people here. Everything is made available for professional athletes in particular so the players can just concentrate on playing.
Sport is so different in Iraq, as we don’t have sports science people and in Australia they seem to have a person for every job at the club, including doctors and kit men.
Training facilities are better here and training is a lot smarter. The whole set up has improved me as a player and made me physically stronger.
I have also learned to play with the ball and without the ball and I feel proud to be representing the Australian people now as a citizen.
When I first came here I couldn’t speak any English and now I can. When I first came here I didn’t ever think I would be playing in the A-League with big clubs, but I’ve worked really hard to achieve it and there have been a lot of people who have helped me get here.
It’s been hard and some people told me I wouldn’t make it, but I worked hard and thankfully achieved my goal.
Having been born an Iraqi I can see that football is the perfect sport to help communicate between different cultures and peoples. I’ve played in games against Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Korea, North Korea, Syria and Australia. At times there have been tensions between the different countries, but that never comes across in the game because people just go there wanting to have fun. That’s what football and sport is all about and it’s what Australian’s do best when they’re playing sport.
Ali Abbas is a 25 year old Iraqi International footballer who currently plays for Sydney FC in the Hyundai A-League. He stayed in Australia after playing for the Iraqi Under-23 side in an Olympic Games qualifier in Gosford. He went on to play football for the Marconi Stallions in the NSW Premier League before signing an A-League contract with the Newcastle Jets in 2009 and moving to Sydney FC in 2012.
