The Isuzu UTE A-League 2021/22 season features players born and raised in all parts of the globe.
Of the 300 names registered on the A-League Men club rosters preceding season kick-off, there were players from 44 countries. These are individuals either born in, raised in, and/or who have represented these countries at senior or youth level.
This conglomeration of players was born in 41 nations, represent 27 nationalities, and have played for 28 different countries in international football, all based on current FIFA nations. While most of these players are considered imports, and some may not be around for more than one or two seasons, many others are Australian and New Zealand residents having migrated down under from an overseas birthplace.
For the first time since the A-League commenced in 2005, there are players from Georgia and Cameroon. Georgian Beka Mikeltadze, a Newcastle Jets signing, is the first person from that country to play at national league level in Australia. Georgia is nestled between Russia and Turkey in the Caucasus region, at the intersection of eastern Europe and western Asia.
Coincidentally, Jets attacking teammate Olivier Boumal, from Cameroon, arrives in Australia having last played for Georgian club Saburtalo Tbilisi. Boumal is the first Cameroonian to play at top level in Australia since 2012 when Estelle Johnson was with the Sydney FC women’s side. Before then it was 2004 Marconi NSL player Simon Bell, and West Adelaide’s Cyrille Ndongo-Keller who initially came to Australia as part of Cameroon’s team at the 1993 World Youth Cup.
Players from a total of 102 nations have played in the 16 completed A-League Men seasons since 2005/06. Nationalities added to the men’s league mix in 2020/21 were Tomer Hemed from Israel, now with Western Sydney Wanderers, and (French-raised) Rudy Gestede who represented west African country Benin.
Source countries returning to the A-League in 2021/22 after not appearing in last season’s squads are Argentina (Juan Lescano, Brisbane Roar), Greece (Savvas Siatravanis, Newcastle Jets) and Slovenia (Rene Krhin, Western United).
Whether these imported players benefit the league and domestic football in the long run is a great topic for debate. Signing the right import can of course win championships, and has educational benefits for their younger teammates. However, imports do ultimately take the starting spots of others – often younger and locally-produced.
The African dimension
Of the 44 nations where current A-League Men players hail from, 11 are African countries. However if we consider one more level of family lineage – taking in where the players’ parents were born – the African contingent expands to at least 15 nations of origin in the 2021/22 season.
With parents from countries such as Liberia (Al Hassan and Mohamed Toure) in the west of the continent, to Sudan (Osama Malik) in the north east, down through Burundi (the Kamsoba/Niyongabire brothers) to South Africa (Keanu Baccus, Storm Roux and Alex Paulsen, who also has a Namibian parent), the African diaspora is up to a record 26 players in the initial 2021/22 A-League Men squads, including solitary import Boumal.
Not to mention the father of reigning Champion coach Patrick Kisnorbo is from the Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius, which is also a part of the African Confederation and where Nikolai Topor-Stanley’s dad also hails from.
Other African nations of birth or ancestry of this season’s A-League Men players include Congo DR, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Furthermore there are several other African-Australians currently part of A-League Youth and NPL sides knocking on the first team door. A third talented Toure brother, 16-year-old Musa, beckons for the Adelaide United senior team. And in the Mariners youth squad is Garang Kuol, the younger sibling of Alou who departed the Mariners for VfB Stuttgart after a spellbinding 2020/21 season at Central Coast Stadium.
Future looks bright
The volume and variety of countries represented in the Isuzu UTE A-League squads this year reveal a truly diverse league, directly and indirectly influenced by cultures and playing styles from all over the world.
While the imports play their part by turning it on for A-League watchers, and ideally helping their Australian clubs win more games, the long-term influence of playing beside younger domestic team mates should not be understated.
Meanwhile a historically large cohort of young Australians with African backgrounds who already possess tons of footballing talent is coming through the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The future looks bright. And there’ll be some great action to watch on the way there.
Follow Andrew Howe’s Australian football stats updates on Twitter @AndyHowe_statto
