Annerley and Mt Gravatt Recognised For Refugee Player Support

Annerley FC and Mt Gravatt Hawks have been recognised for their outstanding efforts in providing an inclusive and supportive environment for young refugee players by Pushing Barriers. Pushing Barriers is an organisation assisting refugee youth to integrate into Australian culture through club sport by providing transport to training and games and paying for club fees and uniforms. They have 32 players involved in clubs around Brisbane with 8 players at Mt Gravatt Hawks FC and 5 players at Annerley FC. The coaches, managers and committee of both clubs have been dedicated to helping the players feel welcome and included into their teams. They have assisted them to grow not just as football players, but as confident members of the community. Tracy Tucker, President of Pushing Barriers said, "We have a player in a team at Mt Gravatt Hawks that is deaf and the coach, manager and team have learnt sign language skills to help better communicate with him. His skills have improved immensely and he will be trialling for the Australian deaf team as a result." Ms Tucker continued, "We would like to thank both clubs for creating an inclusive environment and for their commitment to those Pushing Barriers players and football. They epitomise the values set out by Football Brisbane."