Egypt-born, South Sudanese by origin, raised in Shepparton, discovered in Gosford and destined for Newcastle upon Tyne, England and the Premier League.
Garang Kuol will never forget where he came from – and what sacrifices his parents Antonita and Mawien made to create a better life for him and his seven siblings.
Kuol is the star of the latest episode of A-Leagues All Access, Sky’s The Limit. Airing on KEEPUP on Thursday, November 3, the episode tells the story of the 18-year-old’s meteoric rise through the Isuzu UTE A-League with Central Coast Mariners to earn a maiden Socceroos cap and a dream move to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
The episode also reveals Kuol’s dedication to his family, and gratitude for his parents’ decision to flee South Sudan through Egypt to seek refuge in Australia.
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The Kuol family arrived Down Under in 2005; it’s now a family of 10, with brothers Garang and Alou – currently at German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart – taking the first steps on their respective journeys into European football after starring in the A-League Men.
A-Leagues All Access introduces Kuol’s mother Antonita, chopping up pieces of fruit for her son in the kitchen of the family home.
“Family is a huge part of my life,” Garang says.
“Having a big family is a fun thing. Especially in the backyard (where) you have numbers to play with, whether it’s keep-offs or winner takes all, it just brings that competitiveness.”
“They come from soccer,” Antonita adds. “And they still want to be outside kicking the ball when it’s dinner time, because they want to kick the ball all the time.”
Garang adds: “The sun will go down, she’ll be calling us, my dad will be calling us, we’re hitting the wall, hitting the fences. There’s dents everywhere.
“Then my dad might walk outside and start chasing us.”
It’s the story of a family hooked on football facilitated by the brave decision of two parents to depart South Sudan in search of a better life.
“It wasn’t easy to get into Australia,” Antonita says. “We went to Egypt (as) refugees, and while we were there a lot of our people lost their lives. So it was an emotional time.”
And it’s the understanding of those hardships which fuels Garang’s desire to squeeze everything he can out of his football career.
“Me and my brothers understand the struggle our parents had to go through in order for us to be here as a family,” he says.
The only thing you want to see is your parents and your family members happy. Just to make them proud is a goal me and my brothers all have.
Later, the All Access episode introduces a third member of the Kuol family: Garang’s brother Teng, who joins a friend, Amanhom Khamis, and Mariners teammate Dor Jok at Wamberal beach for a kick of the football.
It’s almost midday – and it’s match day for the Mariners, with Kuol preparing to face Western United in Round 4 of the A-League Men season.
The four mates attempt to keep the ball in the air, juggling it to one another. Should anyone make three mistakes, they’d receive an ear flick from the other three. Garang is first up to receive that treatment.
The setting then dramatically changes: Kuol is still playing the same keep-up game – but at Central Coast Stadium, with his fellow Mariners substitutes prior to his side’s clash with Western.
Kuol once again stops the rhythm of the game by dropping the ball to the feet of Mariners forward Paul Ayongo. Harrison Steele holds Kuol back, and Jacob Farrell, Beni N’Kololo and Ayongo all come in to flick the ear of the young Mariners star.
Whether putting dents in walls outside the family home, playing with friends on the beach, or teammates in the professional game, Kuol treats his football all the same. It might prove key to his resilience in the sport when exposed to the pressures of the Premier League.
