Muslim Aussie rules football star teaches leadership and identity at UAE camp

Bachar Houli, first Muslim to win an AFL premiership medal, arrived with squad of teenage players last week

Bachar Houli, a Muslim Australian rules football player. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Young Muslim Aussie rules football players have completed an intensive, week-long training camp in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – and they brought the right man to show them how.

The 10 players, aged between 15 and 18, arrived in the UAE last week with their coach, Bachar Houli, fresh from winning his second premiership with Richmond in the Australian Football League.

Houli, 33, the first Muslim to play in a premiership-winning AFL side, has been taking teenage players on tours of Muslim nations for several years.

Through a combination of training and visits to tourist attractions, the boys are taught life skills and how to be patient, punctual and make "good decisions".

“We bring these young men together once a year and we got the chance to travel to Abu Dhabi [last year] and experience the beautiful culture,” Houli said.

“They have the opportunity to experience an Islamic country and a different culture, like the Emirati culture.

“On top of that, we bring them here for a league programme. For one whole week I introduce whatever programme I run back home at a professional level."

Houli runs a non-profit football academy in Melbourne that he established in partnership with the AFL and Richmond.

The Bachar Houli Foundation is considered the first Muslim football academy in Australia and has so far trained more than 35,000 players.

He said the highlight of international trips was to get the players “away from their comfort zones”.

“Their phones are not with them full-time so we get them here purely just for us and to see what they are going through on a daily basis,” Houli said.

“We see many examples of the challenges those young men are going through, so we try to help them and steer them in the right direction.

“My focus in life is to give hope to the youth because if you’re going to sit there and worry about the stuff that you can’t control, it will just weigh you down.”

Through his academy, he said he hoped to teach younger generations the importance of retaining their Muslim identity in every aspect of their lives.

Houli said non-Muslim athletes in Australia had a great deal of respect for their Muslim colleagues.

“The most important thing is to be proud of your identity and not shy away from that,” he said.

Houli said he "was very true to my Islamic values" as a young man "and thankfully it all paid off in the end".

During the youths' trip abroad, an Islamic leader is on hand to answer any questions on religion from the squad.

“For example, we ask, 'Who prays five times a day? Do you know how to pray?'" Houli said.

"You’d think a 15 to 18 year old would probably know how to pray and at least some of the fundamentals but some of these young men, or a lot of them, don’t know how to pray.

“It is our role as leaders and role models to teach them that using wisdom. Prayer is about building connection with yourself, with God and having that connection whenever you want help and direction in life.

“So we are there to lead them to the right direction. We give them their tools and it is up to them to take it as far as they want to go.”

During this year’s camp, the boys visited Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, New York University Abu Dhabi and trained at an Ultimate Fighting Championship gymnasium.