Civil war to refugee camp to career in Hong Kong for South Sudanese footballer

It was only after his family were granted permission to start a new life in Australia that footballer Valentino Yuel realised there was a world beyond the Kenyan refugee camp where he spent his first 11 years.

Yuel, 31, who joined Hong Kong Premier League club Eastern District in October, was born in 1994 to South Sudanese parents who had fled the deadly civil war in their homeland.

“You’re boxed in there, you don’t know any different,” said Yuel, who has five brothers and one sister.

“It’s only as you get older, you realise how challenging it was. We had no real foundation; you’re just taking refuge as a family that fled the war.

“My dad was a soldier and was wounded in the war, so he had to find other means to provide. He had a shop and worked very hard. I now understand the challenge my parents had to provide food and an education for seven children.”

Yuel’s day would start with his mum and dad “finding me breakfast”. An early school day was followed by kicking a ball with friends until daylight expired.

“You lose yourself playing football, and think life is normal, but once you travel you appreciate it wasn’t normal,” Yuel said. “My parents worked all day trying to create safety and security, so we didn’t have to experience what they did.

“That upbringing shapes your personality. It creates resilience and toughness, and an ability to make friends.”

No wonder he keeps football in perspective. “I have to be a good human first and foremost,” he said. “We’re just kicking a ball, we’re entertainers, it’s not life and death.”

An uncle of Yuel’s was one of the estimated 20,000 “Lost Boys of Sudan” who were displaced or orphaned during the 22-year war, which ended in 2005. He resettled in Australia, then could apply for relatives to join him.

“It took about two years to get approval,” Yuel said. “There were lots of meetings. I had to have interviews through a translator, which wasn’t easy for a 10-year-old.

“We were among the lucky ones who got to migrate and start a new life. A lot of families were denied. We’re all still very close, and they watch all my games.”

Managing a hamstring injury, striker Yuel will look to open his goalscoring account for Eastern District in his likely sixth outing at home to Southern on Saturday.

“My teammates have only seen glimpses of my ability in training – I have three more gears to go in games,” Yuel said. “I have far more than I’ve shown.

“My agent said this would be a good environment to rediscover my groove, and when I get up and running, I’ll be OK.”

It is far from the first time Yuel has had to become accustomed to new surroundings.

A passion and aptitude for football helped him to adjust to a new culture and language in Australia, and he progressed to make a debut for second-tier Adelaide Comets at 16.

“Then they paid me, and I thought, ‘This is not too bad,’” Yuel said.

“I realised the first-team players were stronger, faster, sharper and had cleaner techniques, and I saw they got paid. I knew I wasn’t far away if I improved those attributes.”

His upbringing gave Yuel the steel to hold his own in senior dressing rooms, and he earned A-League contracts with Western United, then Newcastle Jets.

In 2022, Yuel fulfilled a wish to play abroad, only to find himself with Aluminium Arak in Iran during a civil uprising following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, who had allegedly been arrested for not complying with hijab laws.

“We played a couple of games with no fans, and I thought, ‘OK, this is interesting,’” Yuel said. “There were protests on the streets, but I realised it was serious when the internet went down for three days. I wasn’t afraid, because we had good people protecting us, but I had to make sure my family weren’t frightened. We had access to the embassy, so I could contact them.”

Umm Salal in Qatar offered an escape route, but their coach was dismissed soon after.

“I’d like to start a season already knowing my teammates,” Yuel said.

He had one season back in Australia with Western Sydney Wanderers, then last year joined Nasaf Qarshi in Uzbekistan, where the locals “had never seen black people”.

“It reminded me of being in the refugee camp when white UN workers would come,” Yuel said. “I’d be staring with the other kids, saying, ‘This is amazing.’ I was curious where they came from.

“In Uzbekistan, the people were excited, they wanted photos and to ask where I was from and what languages I spoke.”

After a “rushed decision” to go to Murooj in Libya, his agent contacted Eastern District.

“My plan is to settle somewhere,” Yuel said. “Hong Kong is closer to home, and not too far for my girlfriend [Jacki] to come [from Australia] to visit.”

Yuel and Jacki plan to marry next year, before which he will spend Christmas back in Australia. South Sudan is calling, too: Yuel has 25 caps and two goals for the world’s youngest country. His dream is to qualify for a World Cup after an unsuccessful but encouraging 2026 qualifying campaign.

More importantly, Yuel is grateful that “the career I love took me home for the first time”.

“I got to see my grandparents and extended family, then went back with my parents, which was surreal for all of us,” he said.

“Someone will come up and say, ‘I’m your uncle,’ or, ‘I was there when you were born.’ It’s always amazing to go back. There’s no place like home.”

Source: https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3336277/civil-war-refugee-camp-career-hong-kong-south-sudanese-footballer