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

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a winger for

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

club

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

. Born as a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, he plays for the Australia national team. Mabil played youth soccer at the South Australian National Training Centre and with

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

. He made his senior debut for Campbelltown City, before making his debut in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

for Adelaide United in 2013. He is co-founder of the humanitarian charity Barefoot to Boots, which aims to improve health, education, and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

among refugees, as well as equipping young refugees with sports equipment. In January 2023 he was named

Young Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

Early life and education

Mabil was born on 15 September 1995 to

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

ese parents in

Kakuma Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR Kakuma Refugee Camp, refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp ...

, located in northwestern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He lived with his family in the

Kakuma Refugee Camp Kakuma Refugee Camp is a refugee camp located in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It was established in 1992 to host unaccompanied minors who had fled the war in Sudan and from camps in Ethiopia. The camp is situated in the second poorest re ...

until the age of 10 when they moved to Australia and settled in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He first began playing football at the Kenyan refugee camp at around the age of five, stating: "We would just go outside and start kicking around. It was not structured and there was little else to do". They played with bare feet and used a rolled-up sock as a football. During a

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

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". Mabil attended St Columba College throughout his teenage years in Adelaide, graduating in 2013.

Club career

Youth

Mabil played in youth teams at St Augustines; Playford City; SA NTC (2010–2011); and Salisbury East Junior Soccer Club.

Adelaide United

Mabil made his senior debut at Campbelltown City (in the FFSA National Premier League) in 2012. Later that year he was signed by

in the

, after he had displayed a number of performances showing his pace and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills to outwit many

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

in the FFSA National Premier League. He made his Adelaide United senior debut on 11 January 2013 in a

2012–13 A-League The 2012–13 A-League was the 36th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the eighth season of the Australian A-League since its establishment in 2004. The 2012–13 season saw the introduction of a new Western Sydney-based team, the r ...

match against

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

. He scored his first goal in a 2–1 away loss to

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

in Round 17 of the

2013–14 A-League The 2013–14 A-League was the 37th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the ninth of the A-League since its establishment in 2004. The season began on 11 October 2013, with Western Sydney Wanderers as the defending A-League Premiers ...

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

FC Midtjylland

In July 2015, Mabil secured a move to

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club,

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

for a reported transfer fee in excess of AU$1,300,000 Awer Mabil made his Danish Superliga debut for FC Midtjylland on 16 October 2015 against

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional association football, football club based in Randers, East Jutland metropolitan area, East Jutland, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 200 ...

at the

MCH Arena The MCH Arena is an association football stadium situated in the south of Herning, Denmark, that is part of MCH Messecenter Herning complex and owned by MCH Group A/S. It has been the home ground of FC Midtjylland since March 2004. An integrate ...

Herning Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)

as an 83rd-minute substitute for Daniel Royer. On 22 October 2015, Mabil made his

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

debut at home to Napoli FC, coming on for Mikkel Duelund in the 73rd minute. 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.

Loan to Esbjerg fB

In August 2016, Mabil was loaned to

Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional Association football, football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, Jylland, that plays in the Danish 1st Division, 1st division, the sec ...

to allow him to get more game time and develop. Mabil made his debut on 8 August 2016, starting the match against AGF but was sent off in the 44th minute. Esbjerg was relegated to the

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

, and Esbjerg announced that Mabil was one of nine players who would be leaving the club.

Loan to Paços de Ferreira

In July 2017, Mabil was loaned to

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

to allow him further first-team opportunities. 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. He still follows the club.

Return to Midtjylland

Mabil returned to Denmark in 2018 a more mature player, and had a strong start, scoring a goal and registering two assists in his first six appearances of the season. On 11 November 2018, Mabil scored two and set a further two up in Midtjyllands 5–0 win over

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

, taking his season tally to four goals and eight assists. He worked his way into the first team squad. On 30 September 2020, he assisted

Sory Kaba Sory Kaba (born 28 July 1995) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Elche CF, on loan from UD Las Palmas, and the Guinea national team. Club career Born in Conakry, Kaba moved to Spain at early age and joined ...

's headed goal with a cross in a 4–1 home win over

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

in the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defea ...

play-off round that qualified Midtjylland for their first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. He scored his first Champions League goal on 25 November that year against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

from the penalty spot in a 3–1 defeat.

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.

Cádiz

In May 2022, it was confirmed that Mabil had signed to Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

for four seasons. However in his first half season for the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n club he only made six appearances, averaging merely 40 minutes of playing time per game.

Loan to Sparta Prague

In January 2023, Mabil was loaned to

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

in the Czech Republic. He made a total of 14 appearances for Sparta, scoring two goals and assisting for three, contributing to Sparta becoming Czech champions.

Grasshoppers

On 21 August 2023, Mabil joined Swiss record champions

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zurich (GCZ), commonly referred to as Grasshopper Club or simply just GC, is a professional sports club, multisports club based in Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. They are nicknamed the ''Grasshoppers'' or sometimes just ''Hopper ...

on a two-year contract with an option to extend for a further year. He made his debut for the club on 2 September, replacing Dorian Babunski at half-time in a 2–1 away loss to Stade Lausanne Ouchy. On 7 October 2023, he made his first start for the club, scoring the first two goals and assisting for the third in a 3–0 away win against Yverdon-Sport. He was named the Man of the Match for the performance. On 9 December 2023, during an away game against

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

he pulled his

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

, requiring surgery and sidelining him for nearly four months. As a result, he managed just 21 appearances in his first season in Switzerland, but still provided eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists). On 18 August 2024, he contributed to eight of the nine goals in a 9–0 win over FC Regensdorf in the

2024–25 Swiss Cup The 2024–25 Swiss Cup, or Schweizer Pokal, is the 100th anniversary of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. It features 64 teams from the first to the eight tier of the Swiss football league. The first round will be played from 16 to ...

, scoring a hattrick and assisting for five goals. He scored the team's only goal in a 2–1 defeat in the Zurich Derby on 19 October 2024. On 26 October 2024, an error by Mabil led to the Grasshoppers conceding in just the second minute of their league game away against

FC Lausanne-Sport Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss Association football, football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challeng ...

. The team went on to lose the game 3–0. This would be his final game for the Grasshoppers, as his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 7 January 2025.

CD Castellón

On 5 February 2025, Mabil returned to Spain, signing a contract with

club

until 30 June 2026.

International career

In August 2013, Mabil was called up by Australia for COTIF Tournament in L'Alcúdia, Spain. The tournament was used by the FIFA to prepare players for their successful 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign. 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. 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. 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 Graham James Arnold (born 3 August 1963) is an Australian association football, professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Iraq national football team, Iraq national team. Arnold was first appointed ...

. On 16 October 2018, Mabil made his debut for the Australia senior national team against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in an international friendly match at the

Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium Kuwait Sports Club Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and hosts the home matches of Al Kuwait Kaifan. The stadium holds 12,350. This stadium had also host ...

. 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

's first match of his second stint with the Australian national team. Mabil's goal was assisted by Tomi Juric and Thomas Deng. Mabil celebrated the goal with childhood friend and fellow South Sudanese refugee Deng, who was also making his international debut for Australia. Awer dedicated the goal, post-match, to his mother. Mabil played in qualifying matches for the

. In the final "must-win" game against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

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

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in a 1–0 win in a friendly at

Lang Park Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rectangular sporting st ...

Other activities

Barefoot to Boots

Mabil helped to establish the humanitarian charity Barefoot to Boots with his elder brother Awer G. Bul, and

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

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.

Recognition and honours

In 2018, Mabil was awarded the FIFPRO Merit Award, presented by the International Federation of Professional Footballers at a ceremony in Rome. The award is worth US$25,000, to be donated to his charity to continue his work. 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. In November 2022, Mabil was announced as recipient of the 2023

award for his home state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. On 25 January 2023, he was named the national Young Australian of the Year.

Personal life

Mabil's elder brother is Awer G. Bul, director of Barefoot to Boots, which he co-founded. His 19-year-old sister Bor was killed in a car crash in Adelaide in 2018. He went to school with fellow refugee and Socceroo Thomas Deng.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mabil goal.''

Honours

Adelaide United *

FFA Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia (known as Football Federation Austra ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Midtjylland *

: 2019–20 *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

: 2018–19 Sparta Prague *

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

: 2022–23 Individual * National Youth League Player of the Year: 2012–13 * FFA U20 Male Player of the Year: 2014 *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabil, Awer 1995 births Living people People from Rift Valley Province Australian men's soccer players Australia men's youth international soccer players Australian people of South Sudanese descent Australian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Australian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Men's association football forwards A-League Men players FFSA Super League players Danish Superliga players Süper Lig players Primeira Liga players La Liga players Swiss Super League players Adelaide United FC players FC Midtjylland players Esbjerg fB players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers Cádiz CF players AC Sparta Prague players Grasshopper Club Zurich players CD Castellón footballers South Sudanese emigrants to Australia Naturalised soccer players of Australia 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Australia men's international soccer players South Sudanese refugees Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent 2022 FIFA World Cup players Soccer players from Adelaide Refugees in Kenya Australian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Australian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Australian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic 21st-century Australian sportsmen