Leeds [UK]: Australian refugee and footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi has accepted a job with Football Victoria as its Community and Human Rights Advocate.
Al-Araibi, who made global headlines earlier this year after being detained in Thailand for over two months and threatened with deportation back to his native Bahrain where he faced possible torture and death for alleged crimes, will engage with Victoria’s multicultural football community and inspire them with his own personal battle during this part-time job.
“This job will help me because I love to share my story with people. My story is about how football and sport helped a player. It is a big example of the power of football and how it can change your life,” Goal quoted Al-Araibi, as saying.
“The job will also help me speak more English and it will help me to maybe be a coach in the future after I finish playing. For many people like me, when they come to Australia it is a new country, a new life and for those people I want to be able to help them, to give them advice, to help them play football, help them with anything and for their future,” he added.
Al-Araibi became an Australian citizen in March and expressed his desire to play in the A-League.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]