This is not in the Outback or on the hardy country football ground you may be imagining - this is in Embulbul, an outer suburb of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Why would young Kenyan boys be playing our game? Because of Tom Purcell.
Purcell is a VCE teacher and House Head at St Kevin's College in Melbourne. In 2008 Purcell, who has eight children as well as two foster children from Nicaragua, founded Zimele, which runs in partnership with the Edmund Rice Foundation.
Zimele, which means "To stand on your own two feet", has since been the driving force of Purcell's life. Zimele has raised funds to support various outreach programs in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa and encourages people to recognise the wrongdoings of the world and walk with their African brothers and sisters.
Each year since the initiation of Zimele, Purcell has travelled to Africa with current and past teachers from St Kevin's, representatives of the foundation and past students of the school.
Ex-St Kevin's students with their African teamates. Picture: Zimele
This immersion experience witnesses first-hand the living conditions of these poverty-ravaged countries and engages in programs at local schools and other programs established by the foundation. Each year the trip is slightly different, but there is one constant - a red, oval-shaped ball kicked to the children of these schools.
Sport unites the world, and there is no better example of this than what is undertaken each year in Africa.
I was lucky enough to be a part of the 2013 Zimele Immersion and returned with some amazing memories of the power of sport.
I played soccer in the concrete yard of a juvenile detention centre and played volleyball with the teachers of a local school, but the greatest memories were of teaching football to boys in Kenya and Tanzania and playing matches with these incredible athletes.
In Kenya, we played on the dusty ground of the local soccer pitch with students from Brother Beausang School in Embulbul, and in Tanzania, on the even dustier local pitch with students of Sinon College in Arusha. Despite the understandably confusing rules of our game and the unnatural engagement of handballing, the games were fantastic advertisements for the outstanding natural ability of these boys.
In Kenya, we played on the dusty ground of the local soccer pitch with students from Brother Beausang School in Embulbul, and in Tanzania, on the even dustier local pitch with students of Sinon College in Arusha. Despite the understandably confusing rules of our game and the unnatural engagement of handballing, the games were fantastic advertisements for the outstanding natural ability of these boys.
The Tanzania guernsey for the international football match. Picture: Zimele
Purcell saw their athleticism for the first time in 2008, and since then he has worked to organise an official game in Africa. This long-held dream is not easy to realise, particularly the concept of playing an international match, due to the lack of documentation the young boys have and the difficult logistics of such an event.
But Purcell is not one to give up, and he has overcome adversity to organise a sporting exchange between the two schools, to be held in Kenya from June 24-27.
Twenty-eight boys and 28 girls will travel from Tanzania for the exchange, which will involve netball and volleyball games for the girls and an Australian football game for the boys. The teams are named the Tanzania Sinon Simbas and the Kenya Buffaloes.
But Purcell is not one to give up, and he has overcome adversity to organise a sporting exchange between the two schools, to be held in Kenya from June 24-27.
Twenty-eight boys and 28 girls will travel from Tanzania for the exchange, which will involve netball and volleyball games for the girls and an Australian football game for the boys. The teams are named the Tanzania Sinon Simbas and the Kenya Buffaloes.
The Kenya Buffaloes jumper. Picture: Zimele
The skills, athleticism and bravery of the boys has to be seen to be believed. I was astonished to see just how quickly they picked up our game and with training underway in East Africa, it's easy to imagine just how good this game will be.
They can run all day - we all know that - and their vertical leap, speed, natural ball skills, booming kicks, brilliant balance and ruthless tackling is a sight to be seen. Who knows, maybe it will be seen on the big stage one day?
These underprivileged children now have something to look forward to, a goal to strive for and a chance to do something they never would have been able to do without the help of Purcell and Zimele.
Raising funds for such an event is not easy and the more money that can be raised, the more smiles we can put on the faces of our African brothers and sisters. With this, the greatest game in the world will thank you. For more information, visit zimele.org. To donate to the sporting exchange, click here.
Conor Walsh, 19, is a Melbourne student and supporter of Zimele
They can run all day - we all know that - and their vertical leap, speed, natural ball skills, booming kicks, brilliant balance and ruthless tackling is a sight to be seen. Who knows, maybe it will be seen on the big stage one day?
These underprivileged children now have something to look forward to, a goal to strive for and a chance to do something they never would have been able to do without the help of Purcell and Zimele.
Raising funds for such an event is not easy and the more money that can be raised, the more smiles we can put on the faces of our African brothers and sisters. With this, the greatest game in the world will thank you. For more information, visit zimele.org. To donate to the sporting exchange, click here.
Conor Walsh, 19, is a Melbourne student and supporter of Zimele
