Awer Mabil

Awer Bul Mabil (born 15 September 1995) is a professional association football player who plays as a winger for Segunda División club CD Castellón. Born as a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, he plays for the Australia national team.
Mabil played youth soccer at the South Australian National Training Centre and with Adelaide United. He made his senior debut for Campbelltown City, before making his debut in the A-League for Adelaide United in 2013.
He is 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.
Mabil was born on 15 September 1995 to South Sudanese parents in Kakuma, located in northwestern Kenya. 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, stating: "We would just go outside and start kicking around. It was not structured and there was little else to do". They played with bare feet and used a rolled-up sock as a football. During a 2022 World Cup qualifier, Mabil said "I was born in a hut, a little hut. My hotel room here is definitely bigger than the hut, the room we had as a family in that refugee camp".
Mabil attended St Columba College throughout his teenage years in Adelaide, graduating in 2013.
Mabil played in youth teams at St Augustines; Playford City; SA NTC (2010–2011); and Salisbury East Junior Soccer Club.
Mabil made his senior debut at Campbelltown City (in the FFSA National Premier League) in 2012. Later that year he was signed by Adelaide United in the A-League, after he had displayed a number of performances showing his pace and dribbling skills to outwit many defenders in the FFSA National Premier League.
He made his Adelaide United senior debut on 11 January 2013 in a 2012–13 A-League match against Perth Glory. He scored his first goal in a 2–1 away loss to Wellington Phoenix in Round 17 of the 2013–14 A-League season, after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
In July 2015, Mabil secured a move to Danish Superliga club, FC Midtjylland for a reported transfer fee in excess of AU$1,300,000 Awer Mabil made his Danish Superliga debut for FC Midtjylland on 16 October 2015 against Randers FC at the MCH Arena in Herning as an 83rd-minute substitute for Daniel Royer. On 22 October 2015, Mabil made his UEFA Europa League debut at home to Napoli FC, coming on for Mikkel Duelund in the 73rd minute.
He has said that when he went to FC Midtjylland he began to appreciate the seriousness of the game, and to develop a winning mentality. Initially he was not getting much game time, and the club sent him to two clubs on loan to help develop his skills and a winning mindset.
In August 2016, Mabil was loaned to Esbjerg fB to allow him to get more game time and develop. Mabil made his debut on 8 August 2016, starting the match against AGF but was sent off in the 44th minute. Esbjerg was relegated to the Danish 1st Division, and Esbjerg announced that Mabil was one of nine players who would be leaving the club.
In July 2017, Mabil was loaned to Paços de Ferreira to allow him further first-team opportunities. Paços de Ferreira were relegated at the end of the 2017–18 Primeira Liga season; however, Mabil impressed while on loan, scoring twice and providing a further three assists in 26 league appearances. He still follows the club.
Mabil returned to Denmark in 2018 a more mature player, and had a strong start, scoring a goal and registering two assists in his first six appearances of the season. On 11 November 2018, Mabil scored two and set a further two up in Midtjyllands 5–0 win over Vejle, taking his season tally to four goals and eight assists. He worked his way into the first team squad.
On 30 September 2020, he assisted Sory Kaba's headed goal with a cross in a 4–1 home win over Slavia Prague in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League play-off round that qualified Midtjylland for their first UEFA Champions League. He scored his first Champions League goal on 25 November that year against Ajax from the penalty spot in a 3–1 defeat.
In February 2022, after being sidelined at Midtjylland owing to his unwillingness to sign a further contract after seven years in Denmark, Mabil was loaned to Kasımpaşa in Turkey until the end of the season.
In May 2022, it was confirmed that Mabil had signed to Spanish La Liga club Cádiz for four seasons. However in his first half season for the Andalusian club he only made six appearances, averaging merely 40 minutes of playing time per game.
In January 2023, Mabil was loaned to Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic. He made a total of 14 appearances for Sparta, scoring two goals and assisting for three, contributing to Sparta becoming Czech champions.
On 21 August 2023, Mabil joined Swiss record champions Grasshopper Club Zürich on a two-year contract with an option to extend for a further year. He made his debut for the club on 2 September, replacing Dorian Babunski at half-time in a 2–1 away loss to Stade Lausanne Ouchy. On 7 October 2023, he made his first start for the club, scoring the first two goals and assisting for the third in a 3–0 away win against Yverdon-Sport. He was named the Man of the Match for the performance. On 9 December 2023, during an away game against FC Basel he pulled his hamstring, requiring surgery and sidelining him for nearly four months. As a result, he managed just 21 appearances in his first season in Switzerland, but still provided eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists).
On 18 August 2024, he contributed to eight of the nine goals in a 9–0 win over FC Regensdorf in the 2024–25 Swiss Cup, scoring a hattrick and assisting for five goals. He scored the team's only goal in a 2–1 defeat in the Zurich Derby on 19 October 2024. On 26 October 2024, an error by Mabil led to the Grasshoppers conceding in just the second minute of their league game away against FC Lausanne-Sport. The team went on to lose the game 3–0. This would be his final game for the Grasshoppers, as his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 7 January 2025.
On 5 February 2025, Mabil returned to Spain, signing a contract with Segunda División club CD Castellón until 30 June 2026.
In August 2013, Mabil was called up by Australia for COTIF Tournament in L'Alcúdia, Spain. The tournament was used by the FIFA to prepare players for their successful 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign.
A citizen of South Sudan by birth, he was cleared by FIFA to play for Australia in March 2014 after a year-long process to obtain a birth certificate and gain exemption from FIFA eligibility rules due to his refugee status.
He featured for Australia in the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship, playing in all three of their games, the opponents were Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
After showing impressive form with FC Midtjylland, Mabil was called up to the senior team for the first time. Participating in the Socceroos first training camp under new coach Graham Arnold.
On 16 October 2018, Mabil made his debut for the Australia senior national team against Kuwait in an international friendly match at the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. He came on as a second-half substitution for Mathew Leckie and scored his maiden goal for the senior national team in the 88th minute to give Australia their fourth and final goal in a 4–0 win over Kuwait in Graham Arnold's first match of his second stint with the Australian national team. Mabil's goal was assisted by Tomi Juric and Thomas Deng. Mabil celebrated the goal with childhood friend and fellow South Sudanese refugee Deng, who was also making his international debut for Australia. Awer dedicated the goal, post-match, to his mother.
Mabil played in qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup. In the final "must-win" game against Peru, he scored one of the penalties that secured a place in the competition for the Socceroos. He said that scoring the crucial goal was "the only way to say thank you to Australia on behalf of my family".
On 22 September 2022, Mabil scored his first home international goal against New Zealand in a 1–0 win in a friendly at Lang Park.
Mabil helped to establish the humanitarian charity Barefoot to Boots with his elder brother Awer G. Bul, and Ian Smith to ensure better "health, education, and gender equality" outcomes for refugees. Mabil returned to Kakuma with the organisation, with the aim of promoting football as well as helping refugees in other ways.
In 2018, Mabil was awarded the FIFPRO Merit Award, presented by the International Federation of Professional Footballers at a ceremony in Rome. The award is worth US$25,000, to be donated to his charity to continue his work.
In June 2022, on a visit to his old school, St Columba College, Mabil was presented with the 2022 Alumni of the Year Award, in recognition of his high level of achievement in football as well as his service to the community with his Barefoot to Boots charity.
In November 2022, Mabil was announced as recipient of the 2023 Young Australian of the Year award for his home state of South Australia. On 25 January 2023, he was named the national Young Australian of the Year.
His elder brother is Awer G. Bul, who is director of Barefoot to Boots, which he co-founded.
Mabil's 19-year-old sister Bor was killed in a car crash in Adelaide in 2018.
He went to school with good friend, fellow-refugee and Socceroo Thomas Deng.
Adelaide United
Midtjylland
Sparta Prague
Individual