Samuel Tesfagabr

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Samuel Tesfagabr
Personal information
Full name Samuel Ghebrehiwet Tesfagabr
Date of birth (1985-05-05) 5 May 1985 (age 36)
Place of birth Khartoum, Sudan
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Left Back
Club information
Current team
 Para Hills
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Western Strikers 14 (1)
2011–2012 Gold Coast United 0 (0)
2012–2015 Adelaide Comets 70 (20)
2016 Adelaide Blue Eagles 23 (3)
2017 Adelaide Olympic 7 (0)
2017–2018 West Adelaide 32 (5)
2019–2020 WT Birkalla 18 (4)
2021– Para Hills 4 (0)
National team‡
2009 Eritrea ? (?)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 November 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 September 2012

Samuel Tesfagabr is an Eritrean footballer. He defected from Eritrea while on national team duty at a tournament in Kenya and received asylum in Australia. He was signed to the A-League team Gold Coast United in their final season. As of 2016, he plays for Adelaide Blue Eagles in the National Premier Leagues South Australia.

Escape from Eritrea[]

Tesfagabr was part of the Eritrea and played in the 2009 CECAFA Cup in Kenya, appearing in the 2-1 group match defeat to Rwanda.[1] When the team plane returned, none of the players including Tesfagabr were on it sparking a search by Eritrean authorities.[2] Tesfagabr and his teammates avoided detection for ten days in Nairobi before finding their way to a refugee camp 800 km from the Kenyan capital. They spent eight months at the camp before they were granted refugee status by Australia.[3] After receiving refugee status from the Australian government, the team moved to Adelaide.[4]

Career in Australia[]

After moving to Australia, Tesfagabr, and three other Eritreans signed with the Western Strikers SC of FFSA Super League. While playing for the club, he worked for a local switchboard manufacturer.[4] For the 2011–12 season, he, along with fellow Eritrean refugee Ambesager Yosief, signed with A-League club Gold Coast United.[5][6] Tesfagabr did not make an official appearance for the club.[7] At the end of the season, Gold Coast United lost their license and were dissolved.[8] For the 2013 season, he signed with the Adelaide Comets of the FFSA Super League.[3] In 2016, he made a move to the previous season's runner-up Adelaide Blue Eagles in the same league, which is now called National Premier Leagues South Australia.[9]

Tesfagabr became an Australian citizen in 2016.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Okinyo, Collins (4 December 2009). "Rwanda through to Quarter Finals". michezo net. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  2. ^ "Eritrea football team 'absconds' in Kenya". BBC. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Rob Greenwood (4 February 2015). "Mehari Tesema and Samuel Tesfagabr become Australian citizens five years after fleeing from Eritrean national soccer team". Adelaide Now.
  4. ^ a b Jai Bednall (10 April 2011). "Out of Africa, it's a whole new ball game". Adelaide Now. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. ^ Val Migliaccio (5 October 2011). "A-League preview of teams". news.co.au. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  6. ^ Western Strikers Eritrean duo sign for GCU - Channel 10 report. 6 September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Summary: S. Tesfagabr". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  8. ^ "A-League revokes Gold Coast licence". Herald Sun. Melbourne. 29 February 2012.
  9. ^ Rob Greenwood (5 February 2016). "SA Premier League soccer season kicks off tonight". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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