Three Socceroos currently representing Australia and the World Cup arrived in Australia as refugees.

Nestory Irankunda, 20, Mohamed Touré, 22, and Awer Mabil, 30 all came to Australia as refugees.

They are among six players of African descent in the Socceroos team.

Irankunda has said the team’s diversity was “great for the African community in Australia”.

He said that he and teammate Touré have said they take their status as role models among diverse community seriously.

Friends from childhood, both migrated to Australia as refugees from Africa, Irankunda from Tanzania and Touré from Guinea.

Both came through the ranks at Adelaide United and now play in England’s Championship – Irankunda with Watford and Toure with Norwich City.

Born a Burundian refugee in Tanzania, Irankunda moved to Australia as a baby. He was eligible to play for Tanzania or Burundi but chose to play for Australia.

This week he scored the opening goal in Australia’s 2–0 victory over Turkiye, making him the youngest Australian to score at a World Cup.

Touré, known for his physical strength and pace, has assumed the role of lead striker after enjoying a breakout 2025-26 campaign with Norwich City, scoring nine goals in 11 matches.

He was born a Liberian refugee in Guinea and came to Australia in 2004.

His family spent 14 years in a Guinean refugee camp before moving to Australia when Touré was eight months old after his father met an aid worker, who encouraged him to consider moving here.

His parents evaluated other countries, including Canada and the US, but chose Australia, because they believed they would be more likely to be welcomed.

Awer Mabil was born in a Kenyan refugee camp to South Sudanese parents.

He lived with his family in the Kakuma Refugee Camp until the age of 10 when they moved to Australia and settled in Adelaide.

He first began playing football at the Kenyan refugee camp at around the age of five, saying: “We would just go outside and start kicking around. It was not structured and there was little else to do”.

Mabil’s co-founder of the humanitarian charity Barefoot to Boots, which aims to improve health, education, and gender equality among refugees, as well as equipping young refugees with sports equipment. In January 2023 he was named Young Australian of the Year.

The Socceroos’ 26-man squad come from at least 15 cultural and ethnic backgrounds, a reflection of modern Australia where almost one in three people were born overseas.

The team has addressed growing anti-immigration sentiment in a powerful video message before the World Cup, speaking of their pride in their heritage and playing for the national team.

See more here: The Socceroos address growing anti-immigration sentiment in a video message ahead of the World Cup. – YouTube