Peter Deng (born 12 January 1993), is a Kenyan-born South Sudanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a left back for Australian club Heidelberg United FC in the

National Premier Leagues Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer l ...

and the South Sudan national football team.

Personal life

Deng was born on 12 January 1993 into a family of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

ese refugees in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

, Kenya. He, along with his family, were fleeing from the conflict in South Sudan and eventually resettled in Australia when he was 10 years old. His younger brother,

Thomas Deng Thomas Jok Deng (born 20 March 1997) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Japanese club Albirex Niigata. Born a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, he has represented the Australia national team. Persona ...

, played as a central defender for Melbourne Victory in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

and for the Socceroos. Their mother has always been supportive of the brothers' football careers and drove them around Adelaide dropping them off for training and matches. , Deng taught Physical Education at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre.

Club career

After playing unorganised football in Kenya before moving to Australia, Deng played club football in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, first at Adelaide Blue Eagles and later at Adelaide Olympic. After the family moved to Victoria, he played half a season with Green Gully in the

(NPLV) with his brother Thomas. He played for another NPLV club, Heidelberg United FC, in 2019, before moving to the Eastern Lions in 2020. he plays for Whittlesea Ranges FC, having moved there in 2021.

International career

Deng was called up by South Sudan for their

2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, the 31st edition of the international men's football champion ...

match against

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

on 27 March 2016, which he started.Benin v South Sudan Match Report

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Peter Living people 1993 births People with acquired South Sudanese citizenship South Sudanese footballers South Sudan international footballers Australian soccer players Association football defenders National Premier Leagues players Footballers from Nairobi Australian people of South Sudanese descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent Sudanese emigrants to Australia Association football fullbacks FK Beograd (Australia) players