Houli mentors multicultural youth
ESSENDON midfielder Bachar Houli has used his experiences as the AFL’s first devout Muslim to mentor a group of aspiring young footballers from different backgrounds in Sydney.
Twenty-seven youngsters from countries as diverse as Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, South Korea and Fiji are attending the AFL NSW/ACT multicultural and indigenous talent camp at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.
Houli addressed the players on the second day of the camp before they underwent a range of high-performance athletic testing and stressed the importance of persistence.
“When I first started playing in the AFL, it was a new thing being the first devout Muslim and it opened the doors for my community,” he said on Wednesday.
“The whole message that I wanted to send to these kids is that no matter what background you come from, there’s always an opportunity out there for you.
“It might not work the first time for you, but it can happen the second time or the third time. There are clear examples with mature-age guys getting drafted at 22 or 23, even up to 28.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be AFL footy; it could be anything, as long as these kids remain active.”
Houli said the strict disciplines of his religion had made it difficult to socialise in the same way as many of his teammates but he worked hard to ensure he remained part of the group.
“I couldn’t go out with my teammates and enjoy the nightlife and enjoy a drink, which always adds a little bit to your social life when you can go out and have a drink with the boys,” he said.
“But I always found a different way where I could make up for that, whether it was going out and watching a movie with a few of the boys, or going out for dinner.
“It was difficult at times and a little bit different, but I found my ways to get around it. The best thing was that my teammates respected me as a person and we all get along like a house on fire.”
Standing up in front of his new teammates during his first year at the club and explaining the requirements of his religion was also an important part of gaining his teammates’ respect and understanding, Houli said.
“I said to these young boys earlier today, ‘You can’t just buy respect from the street, you’ve got to earn it’ and that’s what I think I’ve done by growing up at the club,” he said.
“I’ve earned my respect from the day I walked in when I stood up and said who I was and what my beliefs were.
“Not to be arrogant in that way, but to give the boys an understanding of my requirements away from football and the best thing about it was they’ve respected me as a person and not just as a player.”
