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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 39)
Place of birth Khartoum, Sudan
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Left Back
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)
International career‡
2009 Eritrea ? (?)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, 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.[1][2][3][4][5] 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

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Tesfagabr was part of the Eritrea national football team and played in the 2009 CECAFA Cup in Kenya, appearing in the 2-1 group match defeat to Rwanda.[6] When the team plane returned, none of the players including Tesfagabr were on it sparking a search by Eritrean authorities.[7] 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.[8] After receiving refugee status from the Australian government, the team moved to Adelaide.[9]

Career in Australia

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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.[9] For the 2011–12 season, he, along with fellow Eritrean refugee Ambesager Yosief, signed with A-League club Gold Coast United.[10][11] Tesfagabr did not make an official appearance for the club.[12] At the end of the season, Gold Coast United lost their license and were dissolved.[13] For the 2013 season, he signed with the Adelaide Comets of the FFSA Super League.[8] 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.[14]

Tesfagabr became an Australian citizen in 2016.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Samuel Tesfagabr - FTBl article".
  2. ^ Greenwood, Rob (4 February 2015). "Proud to be Aussie". Weekly Times Messenger. p. 5. ProQuest 1650670661.
  3. ^ Fraser, Daniel (13 September 2011). "Eritrean duo enter dreamland in quest to crack United's top team". The Gold Coast Bulletin. p. 44. ProQuest 888610904.
  4. ^ Monteverde, Marco (28 October 2011). "Former refugee edges closer to dream debut". The Courier-Mail. p. 112. ProQuest 900645080.
  5. ^ "SOC:Gold Coast slogan 'in support of refugees'". AAP Sports News Wire. 27 February 2012. ProQuest 923554276.
  6. ^ Okinyo, Collins (4 December 2009). "Rwanda through to Quarter Finals". michezo net. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Eritrea football team 'absconds' in Kenya". BBC. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Val Migliaccio (5 October 2011). "A-League preview of teams". news.co.au. Retrieved 19 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Summary: S. Tesfagabr". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  13. ^ "A-League revokes Gold Coast licence". Herald Sun. Melbourne. 29 February 2012.
  14. ^ Rob Greenwood (5 February 2016). "SA Premier League soccer season kicks off tonight". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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