Emmanuel Irra says more Africans will play SANFL and AFL
HE MAY be one of the first SANFL footballers out of Africa but Emmanuel Irra is convinced he won’t be the last.
HE MAY be one of the first SANFL footballers out of Africa but Emmanuel Irra is convinced he won’t be the last.
The South Adelaide live-wire works as an SANFL diversity projects officer helping migrants to learn the game and believes a wave of African, Asian and Middle Eastern players will soon ascend SANFL and even AFL ranks.
“I love it, just seeing all these new arrivals coming to Australia and really enjoying our game,’’ says Irra, a Ugandan refugee who settled in Adelaide 10 years ago.
“I see so many people like myself, who come here and they don’t know the sport but they love it and they want to learn …
“With the program we’ve got at the SANFL, there’s a clear pathway for these kids and I’ve got no doubt we’ll see more playing league footy.
“There’s some guys coming through the system right now.”
Irra is the face of the SANFL’s Multi Cultural Round.
He and his family fled war torn Uganda when he was 11 and he says playing football helped him integrate into Australian life.
War was a constant threat during his childhood and his family lived in a small mud hut, sheltered by a straw roof.
With natural flare and talent he burst onto league footy as a teenager and attended the 2012 AFL draft camp. He was overlooked and his football plateaued, especially last year when he spent the season in the reserves.
“I just stopped and I thought ‘hey, how lucky am I to be playing footy and working in a great job in Adelaide’,” he said.
The dashing half backman worked closely with Panthers coach Brad Gotch, who promised Irra he’d get a chance in the trial matches this year.
Irra has grabbed them with both hands and is now playing the best football of his career in South’s league side.
“I think he had to take a step backwards, to go forwards,’’ Gotch said.
“When I first came to the club he was almost playing on sheer instinct, which is a good thing but we had to teach him a few of the basics … The things he can do offensively make him unique and now he is complimenting that better with his defensive side.”
Irra hasn’t given up on the AFL dream but says he cannot get ahead of himself and is thinking only about holding his place in South’s team.
“Definitely it is a dream, it would be amazing but I’ve learnt that you have to take care of each step,’’ Irra says.
“If it happens, great but I’ll be happy playing the highest level that I can.”