Awer Mabil on his experience with mental health and life beyond football

AS a South Sudanese refugee, Awer Mabil knows something about yearning to be better off. He also knows what it’s like to get there, and realise there is more to life than you thought.

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AS a South Sudanese refugee, Awer Mabil knows something about yearning to be better off, to have money to support your family and other things a kid growing up in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp might never dream of.

He also knows what it’s like to get there, play on the biggest stage and then come to the confronting realisation that the top can be a lonely place.

It’s why the young Socceroos forward wants to reach out to Majak Daw. To tell a man who’s made the extraordinary journey from Sudanese refugee to AFL star, and surpassed all external expectations on the way, that he’s there whenever he needs.

Mabil celebrates his opening goal against Syria. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

“I want to,” Mabil said.

“But also I have to respect his decision at the moment, that is to give him some privacy for him and his family.

“I was very surprised with what had happened. The only thing we can do is offer our full support if he needs it, whatever the reason might be, we can try to fix it all together.

“So he just needs to take his time and when he’s ready to come out and talk to some people, we’ll be there to help him.”

Arnie gets a hug from his young star. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Mabil doesn’t know Daw personally but has connected with him on social media.

His gesture comes a day after the North Melbourne defender wrote an open letter expressing gratitude for being “blessed with a second chance at life” a month after sustaining serious injuries in a fall from Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge.

Hours later Mabil revealed the meaning behind his goal celebration following his fourth in seven caps against Syria at the Asian Cup, a unique signal he’d come up with three months ago in the hope it would resonate.

Just before sprinting to the dugout and jumping on coach Graham Arnold, the man who’d handed him his international debut against Kuwait last October, he covered his mouth with one hand to highlight that people dealing with mental health issues should talk about it.

The other hand formed a peace sign between his eyes to signify bringing peace to the mind.

Then the 23-year-old, who’s already been through more than many will in a lifetime, told the world why it meant so much to him.

Mabil knows more than most what the journey means. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

“As a kid you always want to have everything — play on the highest stage, have the money, have everything,” Mabil said.

“But as soon as you get that, you realise that either you’re alone, or there’s something that’s not making you fully happy.

“Because it’s not about the money or the attention, it’s all about your happiness.

“If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing you’re just going to isolate yourself and you can beat yourself up a lot of times.

“It’s just about creating that awareness — the more you’re clear in the mind, the more fresh you are in the mind, the better you’ll be able to enjoy the moments of whatever you’re doing.”

The midfielder has brought his own cause to the Socceroos. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The former Adelaide United player, who has already received recognition for his Barefoot to Boots foundation, has already spoken of football’s power to “get rid of my traumas” as he spent his formative childhood years in difficult conditions at Kakuma.

Part of a tight-knit family, he struggled when he moved away from his mum and siblings to Denmark at 19 and spent the next three years finding his feet on loan at another club in the country and then Portugal before finally cracking the Midtjylland first team.

Awer Mabil received his FIFPro Merit Award 🏆, a recognition for his Barefoot to Boots program, from the president of the Danish player association, Thomas Lindrup 👏 pic.twitter.com/L1GQZAVVEt

— FIFPro (@FIFPro) December 10, 2018

Sometimes, when he wasn’t playing, he isolated himself and was overly self-critical.

But he was fortunate to have the support of his club, his girlfriend and her family.

Still, the prevalence of mental health issues in sport and general society, and a tendency of sufferers to “go quiet” or “worry about what other’s think” sparked the idea and a new hashtag he hopes will get the word out that there’s no need to be afraid of judgment.

Social media has already blown up and Mabil and the Socceroos have kicked off a new #AMChallenge campaign — which can be interpreted as either “Awer Mabil” or “Awareness of the Mind” — to capitalise on the conversation.

His phone is already off the hook.

“People are saying thank you for bringing this up, it really means a lot,” he said.

“Sometimes you can take this indirectly as some people also can be suffering from this but don’t want to say it straightforward.

“I’m just there to offer myself whenever, and anyone can send me a message and I can help them or find someone else better who can help them.”

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