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For 17 years, Hobart United has plied its trade in the lower divisions of Tasmanian football, battling away both on and off the field.
Key points:
- Hobart United is largely made up of migrants and refugees
- The team is enjoying a spike in success after yeas of struggling
- But the team is still trying to find an adequate home base
But something is brewing in 2019 that even the staunchest supporters of the club could never have predicted.
A stellar season has seen United on the brink of promotion into the state's top-tier National Premier Leagues Tasmanian competition.
"I think 12 months ago they would have said it's not possible," said new coach Andrew Brown.
"But it's a funny old thing, once you break those glass ceilings down anything's possible, and it marries with where they've come from in life."
Hobart United is no ordinary soccer club.
Its players are largely migrants and refugees, who have arrived in Tasmania from war-torn corners of the globe such as Sierra Leone and South Sudan.
Language and cultural barriers have previously prevented the team from reaching its full potential.
But Brown, who only took the helm this season, has made things click.
"What unites them is football," he said.
"So if we have the same rules for everyone — tall, short, black, white, pink, purple, old, young — we just have football rules and they actually are brilliant."
Club president Aubert Ruzigandekwe said the team had developed a reputation for having a poor attitude, and things needed to change.
A focus on substance over style is paying dividends.
"Quality-wise there's never been any problems," he said.
"But the attitude and mental strength, that's been the issue for us over many years."
Midfielder Riaq Ngor-Apuol arrived in Tasmania from South Sudan 12 years ago, and has ridden every bump during his 10 seasons with the team.
He believes the club has evolved from simply a place for migrants to play, into a local soccer powerhouse.
"It was just a matter of whether or not we we're confident enough to take our own game, our own football, to any team," he said.
"Now, we're not afraid of anyone."
United sit on top of the Southern Championship, ahead of traditionally strong local teams New Town Eagles and University.
New promotion and relegation rules mean if the club wins the southern title, it'll have the opportunity to play in the statewide league.
There are hurdles though.
United doesn't have an adequate home base, and a Football Tasmania competition review means promotion and relegation may be scrapped just one season after it was implemented.
Football Tasmania chief executive Matt Bulkeley said even if it remains, United may struggle to make the step up.
"We want to work with clubs to try and transition them up into the NPL, but it can be a multi-year process for clubs to come up into it because there are a lot of criteria and some of them are quite stringent," he said.
An 'African train rolling'
But United will be happy either way, and whatever happens, will continue to provide sporting refuge for Tasmania's new arrivals, regardless of colour or creed.
"It's really important to have this community," Ngor-Apuol said.
"At Hobart United we have that space for people to come in and feel at home from day one. It's more than a club."
Brown agrees, but won't complain if the club picks up a trophy or two along the way.
"Maybe I'm a bit biased because I'm the coach, but I don't think anything can stop us now," he said.
"I think we're an African train that's rolling. You just need to get out of the way."
Topics: refugees, immigration, community-and-society, soccer, sport, hobart-7000
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