The report says Mayada Ali, 21, is playing in her third Freedom Cup. A Kurdish refugee, she arrived in Australia in 2019 after spending six years in a camp in northern Iraq as a child.
Her path into football was not straightforward. Age, gender, religion and background created barriers, yet she continued playing and coaching. The report says Ali now works as a women’s street football coach and joined the team at 18, finding a community that has grown with her over the past three years.
Her involvement also carries a personal connection. Ali’s younger brother, Salih, reportedly dreamed of playing at the 2026 World Cup and introduced her to football. After his death from cancer, she chose to continue that ambition through her own involvement in the game.
The report also describes Eli Nkindi, the Burundi men’s coach, as someone who began playing in a refugee camp before moving to Australia at nine. His experience mirrors the wider role of the tournament: football offers a common language before players know each other’s histories.
That equality is the Freedom Cup’s strongest feature. Players arrive from different backgrounds, but the pitch gives them an immediate connection. Competition remains part of the event, yet the lasting value appears to be the friendships formed around it.
The update says this year’s Refugee Week theme is “a million stories”, reflecting 1 million humanitarian visas issued in Australia since the Second World War. The Freedom Cup gives those stories a human setting.
As the tournament continues, the next measure of its impact will be what remains after the final whistle: new friendships, continued coaching opportunities and a stronger football community in Perth.