10-year-old Zimra Hussain is a self-described footy fanatic, although the Afghan refugee only played her first game of footy last year.
The inspiring young girl from Toowoomba yesterday became the Inaugural #1 Ticket Holder for the Brisbane Lions' Women's team.
A Darling Downs resident, Zimra told lions.com.au she uses AFL as a platform to develop friendships and feel accepted.
“It’s my passion, making new friends, it’s Australia’s game so I want to be part of it,” she said.
Zimra’s family arrived in Toowoomba in 2014 after fleeing attacks from the Taliban.
The Hussain family became involved in AFL via their local church paster, Ross Savill who has a vested interest in introducing refugee kids to AFL.
“She has broken down all sorts of barriers and preconceptions that people may have had”, Savill said.
Zimra has been talent spotted for a multicultural development program with intentions to pursue a career in the sport she has come to love.
“I want to play in my future and I want to be professional”.
Brisbane Lions Women’s CEO, Breeanna Brock presented Zimra with her Inaugural #1 Ticket Holder framed certificate and a women’s team signed football. Brock explained when she first witnessed Zimra in action.
“I saw Zimra play at the under 12 school girls championships and was impressed by her skill and obviously playing in a hijab which caught my eye”.
“I then saw the ABC story and then I felt a real infinity with her. To hear someone who has had massive struggle through life to get to where she is and now she’s really found a passion and she’s striving to achieve her dreams. Which I think had a lot of synergy with where woman’s footy has come from.
“To see a young girl who’s come half way around the world, now loving our game I just thought, here’s someone who is inspiring not just to me but to a whole group of young girls out there as well. We hope that Zimra can represent the Lions out in her region and encourage more girls to play footy”.
“We’d love her to come to all of our home games and be an ambassador for us to young girls and encourage more girls to play AFL”.
An inspiring story of a girl who didn’t know what AFL was and now doesn’t know how to live without it.
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