The story of Kamal Ibrahim: An inspiration to young migrants

The founder of One Ball, Kamal Ibrahim, understands that football is a beacon of light for him and the people that experience adversity and hardship in their countries.

Along with his family, Ibrahim migrated from Ethiopia in 2003 for a new life in Australia at the age of 12 to flee the civil war.

By not understanding a word of English along with the difficulties of settling into the cultural ways of life in Australia, that’s when he turned his passion for football as a form of expressing himself and communicating with his new community.

His football career began for his local team, Port Melbourne Soccer Club, the noble act from the NPL club to pay for his membership, providing him with his uniform and most significantly making him feel welcome instantly the moment that he had arrived was an admirable act of generosity.

Looking back on his playing career, Ibrahim talked about the life skills football gave him, not only on the pitch but also off it.

“Through football I learnt skills that helped me on and off the field. I looked forward to my games each week, my team was my ‘family’, I had a sense of acceptance and a way of communicating without having to speak, I learnt how to work as a team, improve myself as an individual, I was supported in a fun and safe environment.

“Football has given me opportunities that I never expected. Football gave me the opportunity to represent Australia and Victoria on a national level and I was given the opportunity to travel the world. It gave me that sense of encouragement to do more with my life and that with hard work anything can be achieved.”

He has gone on to make appearances for Melbourne Heart (now known as Melbourne City) in 2010-2012 and representing the youth team of Australia, but his career was at an all-time high when playing for Port Melbourne Sharks, which is where he won the 2015 NPL’s best and fairest award.

Now Ibrahim has decided to show his admiration for the sport, by starting a program designed for children and adolescences between the ages of 5-17 year olds.

The program is open to all people, especially those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) nationalities from all over Melbourne to play football in a social and friendly environment, no matter their religion, culture or gender.

The mission of this program is to encourage children to be fit and active, as well as supporting their physical and psychological health and well-being, One Ball also aims to guide and empower young individuals to develop personal qualities such as cooperation, self-control, respect and integrity by playing football with others along with the mentoring they receive from their coaches.

Ibrahim explains why he started One Ball.

“I started One Ball trying to not only help the best players, but the overall community. Kids who have never played soccer before, kids who have the passion but they can’t play for a soccer club because they will be told they aren’t good forward or who aren’t good enough to play for an NPL club or a community club, so One Ball was established for that reason,” he said.

“As human beings when we realise belong in the community, we feel a part of the society, then we can achieve things. Every kid who comes to our program gets a uniform just like they are part of their soccer club, they feel like they can belong at that club.”

The PFA’s Footballers Trust supports One Ball and other similar organisations, giving an opportunity for players to give back to their communities in a positive and impactful way.

It was established by former footballer Mark Milligan prior to the 2019 Asian Cup, ever since then it has grown remarkably to the extent where they have partnered with over 10 various player-driven charity initiatives.

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Shepparton Cup 2024: The largest junior football tournament goes from strength to strength

The Shepparton Cup was conducted over the weekend, with the event being the largest weekend junior football tournament ever held in Australia.

The 3-day event was a huge overall success, with a record breaking 313 teams competing in the tournament across 21 divisions.

Matches were spread across 38 pitches at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve, Shepparton Sports City, Rumbalara and Wanganui Oval.

With around 4,000 players participating, 755 matches were played over the weekend – with finals matches concluding the event on Sunday.

“It was the biggest and smoothest tournament we’ve ever ran in our 17-year history,” Australian Football Skool (AFS) Director Rolando Navas told Soccerscene.

“There was of course really good football on show across the age groups and great sportsmanship, which was fantastic to see.

“I think the message is getting through about how important it is to provide a positive environment for kids to play sport in. It was pleasing to see everybody there, both players and parents/supporters, had a good time.”

Navas estimates that there were well over 12,500 people attending the event across both venues over the weekend, providing a giant boost to the local Shepparton area.

“You are talking about a wide range of people who are, at a minimum, staying in the city of Shepparton or close by for two nights,” he said.

“The economic impact was massive.”

Economic activity at Shepparton Cup – Image Credit: One Nil Media

Director for Sustainable Development at Greater Shepparton City Council, Geraldine Christou, further explained the greater benefits the tournament had on the local community.

“Australia’s largest junior weekend football tournament right here in Greater Shepparton showcases the strength of our community spirit and our capacity to host major events that bring joy, talent, and visitors to our region,” she stated.

“The economic benefit of this tournament is immense with an estimated $3 to $4 million generated for the region, supporting our local businesses and creating lasting memories for thousands of young athletes and their families.

The Greater Shepparton City Council’s Parks, Sport and Recreation team played a big hand in the organisation of the tournament, which included looking after the setup of pitches to the placement of goals at the venues.

Football Victoria CEO Chris Pehlivanis, who attended the tournament over the course of the weekend, was impressed with the execution of it.

“I’m proud of the whole tournament, it was an amazing opportunity to come down here to Shepparton and see lots of boys and girls playing football and playing lots of games,” he stated at the event.

“I think most kids had six, seven, eight games which is an amazing opportunity and not only that, there was amazing organisation.

“Everyone should be extremely proud of what they have achieved here this weekend…the logistics, everything was run smoothly…the referees were great and all the parents and participants were great.”

Kids at play during the Shepparton Cup – Image Credit: One Nil Media

The Shepparton Cup has continued to grow exponentially over the years, initially starting with just 30 teams in the inaugural tournament in 2007.

This year’s edition also featured a wide range of off the field activities that contributed to a carnival like atmosphere. There was live music, on stage entertainment, food trucks, a fun zone for players and families.

Navas detailed to Soccerscene that the enormity of the event was not lost on him and is investigating ways to make the competition better in the near future.

“(The growth of the event has been) overwhelming, compared to many of the previous years. It was the biggest by far this year and there was a great positivity around it.

“The plan is to not necessarily make it bigger in the future, just to tweak it and add more to it and make it a better experience for everyone.

“I’d love to be able to attract some more international teams, we are looking at that to see how we can get some of the Asian teams to come across to the event.

“This would be fantastic, as it would show the kids here how football is played in different parts of the world. The way we look at things is ‘if I was 10- or 12-years-old what would I want this tournament be?’

“That’s what drives a lot of our thinking and ultimately our initiatives. It’s important to us because if the kids have a good experience, they’re going to become better players and better people because of it.

“We’ve also received some really good information from the feedback surveys we put out, which is very beneficial in shaping the tournament suitably in future editions.”

Is it time to make the A-League Women a full-time professional competition?

Newcastle Jets Women

In the last fortnight, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) released their annual A-League Women’s report, providing an overview of the current state of the women’s game at the highest level in Australia.

Throughout the document the PFA pinpointed their key recommendation, make the A-League Women’s (ALW) competition a full-time professional league.

The association had previously earmarked this as their number one priority in the year prior, but have now doubled down – setting a timeline for implementation by the 2026-2027 season.

The timeframe has come from extensive feedback from stakeholders within the game, with the vast majority of players agreeing that action on this front must come sooner rather than later.

The report outlined in detail the difficulties players are having with the current part-time nature of the league – with most players not on 12-month contracts, minimum wages set at $25,000 and club salary caps sitting at $600,000 per season.

The representative body also highlighted the threat to the competition based on significant progress of other women’s sporting leagues here in Australia and more importantly overseas women’s football leagues.

“The global growth of women’s football presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the A-League Women,” PFA Co-Chief Executive Kate Gill stated.

“Our players recognise that the league must embrace full-time professionalism by 2026 to remain competitive on the global stage.

“Our league and club leaders must unite behind a new vision that drives professionalism, commercial growth, and investment.”

Competitions such as the UK Women’s Super League (WSL) and the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), have continued to build their presence in the global landscape.

The WSL has had a 700% increase in attendances, since establishing themselves as a full- time professional league in 2018.

The NWSL has recently increased its salary cap by 40% to $4.1 million for the 2024 season, after securing a significant broadcast deal worth 40 times more than their previous one.

Alongside this, a new American professional league, the United Soccer League’s Super League (USLS) launched in August of this year – with plans underway to continue to expand the competition.

These developments will continue to affect the ALW’s ability to not only retain but also attract talent to the Australian competition, as player salaries and conditions continue to rise in overseas leagues.

Of the 106 foreign player transfers into the ALW since 2018, 63 were Americans. 46% of the imported players (across all nationalities) came directly from the NWSL. With professionalism and club standards continuing to reach greater heights in competitions in America, for example, the ALW may continue to fall behind and not be an attractive proposition for foreign players coming into our competition, but also for players already competing in the ALW.

According to 2023-2024 end of season surveys conducted by the association, ALW players have now rated the NWSL as the second most preferred league to play in, behind the WSL in the UK.

In the previous year, 56% of ALW players put the ALW ahead of the NWSL on their respective lists, but a year later only 41% of players did the same.

It’s a clear sign that these leagues overseas are offering superior opportunities for players, which the ALW needs to try to combat and minimise this impact immediately.

With full time professionalism in the Australian competition set as a clear goal by the PFA, the commercial viability of the league will be at the forefront of any discussions around this.

The ALW did increase their crowds organically in the past season by 72 percent (on the back of a Women’s World Cup on home soil) however the PFA believes there were still strategic missteps that could have led to even further growth.

Based on fan focus groups setup by the organisation, newly converted Matildas fans were ignorant to details about ALW teams and schedules – due to a lack of promotion to spectators who attended international matches.

With the Women’s Asian Cup also to be played in Australia in two years’ time, the same mistakes cannot be made and capitalising on these home tournaments is paramount.

The 2026 Women’s Asian Cup is set to be an important part of the PFA’s proposed professional relaunch of the A-League women’s competition, using the major tournament to enhance the leagues visibility.

Alongside this, the report claims that an improvement of the ALW’s match presentation is needed – from consistent match day experiences, to appropriate venues for games and better broadcast standards.

All of these factors should, alongside overall improvements to club environments, lead to an attractive product that may eventually reap commercial rewards in the future.

The question is however, will the next step of initial investment towards a professional full-time A-League Women’s competition be taken?

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