Darwin soccer club helps migrants find community and a place to call home

When Kaung Zayar-Thaw kicked a soccer ball for the first time at age 13, he was displaced in Thailand.

His father, Zaw Zaw Htoo, had been a member of Myanmar's parliament with the National League for Democracy and in 2021, the military junta seized their home in a military coup.

The family was forced to make the dangerous journey into Thailand, hiding in a forest for several days in fear of being caught and deported.

Soon after arriving in Thailand, Kaung said he spotted some people kicking a ball around and was intrigued.

From there, the so-called "world game" went on to play a role in helping him cope with adversity.

"Football is the only thing that helped me get through stuff," he says.

When he arrived in the Top End in 2024, Kaung joined the Darwin Olympic Sporting Club, where his teammates helped him practise his English as well as soccer. 

Now 15, Kaung plays as a defender for Darwin Olympic, and he says football has become much more than a sport.

"Football is the only way out of things when I'm under stress from all the pressure from the schoolwork and stuff," he says.

"It's fun, and it just teaches me how to … communicate with my teammates.

"My teammates help me. I just feel [like I] belong, [and] I really like being a part of this Olympic team."

A club shaped by migration

The Darwin Olympic Sporting Club was founded in 1967 by Greek migrants to the city as a place for their community to come together through soccer.

Almost 60 years later, the club has grown into a multicultural community representing more than 30 nationalities.

Club president Yianni Prouzos believes the club's home base in Darwin's multicultural northern suburbs has made it a natural meeting place for migrant communities.

"Football is the world's most common language," Yianni says.

"You come here, you don't have to speak the same language — you just have to know how to kick the ball and pass the ball."

Yianni, who moved to Australia as a child, says migrants now contribute to the club well beyond the playing pitch.

"We've got a lot of our migrants that come and help us," he said.

"Every person has different experiences, has different cultures … so what do they bring? Knowledge."

A family starting again

After a period of uncertainty, Kaung's mother, Kyi Kyi Nwe, says the family has felt safe since arriving in Darwin, but that adjusting to their new home has been challenging.

"The difficulty we faced is that people speak a different language, culture, and the food is really difficult for us," she said.

But football has given the family a reason to get involved in the community.

"When we are seen in the community engaging with others in activities, it makes us feel that we're involved in the community and part of the community as well," Kyi says.

According to Charles Darwin University senior lecturer Devaki Monani, Darwin's small and diverse population can make those connections easier to build.

"You can actually really get a multicultural experience and … you're not excluded," she said.

"Sport has great potential in connecting communities and breaking down those language and political barriers.

"In a place like Darwin, sporting activities are critical for families to engage with other families, whether migrants or not."

Soccer brings sense of belonging

Football Northern Territory chief executive Jaime Monteith says for many migrants, their first preference when it comes to sport is soccer.

He says the game can give people a sense of belonging while also opening doors to volunteering, coaching and refereeing.

"What it does is it breaks down barriers, breaks down the ability for new arrivals, migrants, to find a home or a sense of belonging," Jaime says.

For Kaung's family, those connections are helping to turn Darwin from somewhere they arrived into somewhere they can call home.

"We are trying our best to look after each other and be welcoming and make this place our home," Kyi Kyi Nwe said.