Thousands of people drum, cheer, sing and wave flags.
Based on the passion on display, one might mistake the crowd at the Africa Cup of Nations in Perth for the fans lining the stands at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Except it all happens in a suburban oval north of Perth.
As World Cup fever grips soccer fans across the globe, a small grassroots competition in Perth is growing rapidly, uniting the city’s many African communities in the process.
Perth African Nations Sports Association president Achol Madong says participation in the competition has “grown tremendously” over the past decade.
“[The cup] first started in 2008; was formed by a group of gentlemen who wanted to use the world game as a means to engage with the community while resettling in a new country and a new state,” he said.
“Back home in Africa, there’s the Africa Cup of Nations, where all 54 African countries come together and play, so I think it was a way for them to keep that connection to that tournament as well.”
The idea grew into a non-profit community organization, the Perth African Nations Sports Association, which coordinates after-school programmes, youth workshops and its flagship event, the Perth Africa Cup of Nations.
This year, a record 32 African countries are represented in the competition with 39 teams in junior, master and women’s categories.
Looking for the next big soccer stars
Ms Madong said the cup was also an opportunity to showcase and develop emerging talent within the African community in Perth.
“We have a lot of clubs and agents coming to these games to scout the next season, we’ve been very successful,” he said.
“We’ve lost a number of players in the eastern states who are now at elite clubs.”
One such talent is South Sudanese Australian professional player Friday Zico, one of the ambassadors of the competition.
When he was just a few months old, Zico’s family fled war-torn Sudan and lived in a refugee camp in Uganda for 10 years before settling in Western Australia in 2004.
“That’s when I started to get involved in structured football, I was used to street football,” he said.
“Getting involved in soccer changed the course of my life.”
Zico was invited to train at the Football West National Training Center before being selected to play for the South Sudan national team.
He made his official debut against Mali in 2015 at the age of 20, playing in front of 30,000 people at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I never imagined that I would be on television playing in front of thousands of people,” he said.
Zico now wants to use his experiences to inspire other young South Sudanese players in Perth.
Samuel Riak, captain of Perth’s South Sudan team, says many young players hoping to make a name for themselves use the competition as a starting point.
“As much as it is a community event, we do have some players who played last year who were called up to the youth Socceroos,” he said.
“There is real quality in this competition, a lot of quality players with a great future.
“Hopefully one day they will be able to continue playing for Socceroos, this year three of our players played for the Australian under-20 national team.”
Representing South Sudan, 19-year-old John Ngunar is one such young hopeful.
“As a young player getting involved in this competition, there are so many experienced players playing in the [Australian] National Premier Leagues,” he said.
“Learning from them and experiencing all the knowledge they have and all the advice they give is important.
“My dad came to the last game and saw me play and just seeing the smile on his face meant a lot. I hope I can take that to the next level and even play maybe for the South Sudan team at home.
“We all come together as Africans, and we just represent where we come from; it’s a competition that just brings us together.”
Ms Madong said the organization was recently recognized as a charity that uses sport as a vehicle for social change for immigrant, refugee and Afro-Australian communities.
“We have a very experienced board who have skills in event management, project planning – they are all African-Australian professionals,” he said.
“Therefore, we are taking ownership of this tournament and the programs we provide to our community, rather than waiting for some outsider to come in and do it.
“The community has taken this initiative as their own and they want to protect it, they want to make sure it succeeds.
“Sport, and football in particular, breaks barriers, we have seen many friendships formed with different people from different backgrounds.”
She says that the competition is open to everyone.
“You know, there may be a family friend who’s interested in playing, they’re more than welcome, so we don’t exclude them, regardless of background,” he said.
“You just have to be fit. And you play under that African nation for the competition.”
“And I mean, we’re all Australians at the end of the day.”
