Such is the size of the Lebanese community in western Sydney that this week’s visit of Lebanon to play the Socceroos in the latest round of World Cup qualifiers may at times feel like a home game for the Cedars; more Beirut than Blacktown.
For 21-year-old Jackson Khoury, who this week earned his first call-up to the Lebanese national team, it quite literally will be. Khoury was born and raised in Baulkham Hills, a stone’s throw north of Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium where the two nations will meet on Thursday evening.
“It will be really special,” he says just hours after landing in Sydney after an arduous 24-hour journey from Statesboro in Georgia, where he plays with the USL League One side South Georgia Tormenta FC.
“I think it will make everyone very proud, especially with the hard work that I’ve put in, but [also] that my family have put in along the way. I’m sure it’ll bring massive smiles to their faces, and just make everyone very excited and proud of what’s to come and the sacrifices that we’ve all made.”
Khoury is the eldest of three siblings born to an Australian mother and Lebanese father, through whom he is eligible to represent the team ranked 115th in Fifa’s world rankings.
Having been on their radar since visiting the country as a teenager – a trip he said solidified his decision to pursue this opportunity – Khoury had a taste of national team life during a pre-Asian Cup training camp in Lebanon and impressed their coach, Miodrag Radulović, enough to earn a full selection for this series.
“[That experience] was really good,” he says. “A lot of the guys were very supportive and really nice people. Having people from a lot of different backgrounds, Daniel [Kuri] from Mexico, Gabby [Gabriel Bitar] from Canada, really helped bring the team together, and I realised just how proud a lot of people are to represent Lebanon as a country.”
Were it not for a cruel injury, Khoury, a product of Sydney United and Central Coast Mariners’ academy, would be one of two Australian-born players stepping out for Lebanon at CommBank Stadium.
Midfielder Yahya El-Hindi was in line for another call-up, having been part of Lebanon’s squad at the Asian Cup, but he suffered a hamstring injury last week playing for his club side, Al Ansar, that will see him sidelined for the foreseeable future.
While El-Hindi, also from Sydney’s west, was robbed of the chance to represent his family’s heritage in his own back yard, he knows exactly the emotions Khoury will be feeling this week ahead of a possible national debut.
“The feeling of anticipation and excitement leading up to my debut for Lebanon in 2019 was unforgettable,” he says. “At just 20 years of age, stepping on to the pitch against Iraq in front of a sold-out crowd added an extra layer of significance to the moment. It was a moment I’ll cherish forever, and it only further motivated me to continue giving my all for Lebanon.”
The contribution of migrant communities to the game in Australia has been significant, but that has not always been the case for the Lebanese community – unlike their Mediterranean neighbours such as Greece, Croatia and Italy, they have never had a club in the old National Soccer League, despite having the same passion for the game.
Only four Lebanese-Australian men – Andrew Nabbout, Tarek Elrich, Ahmad Elrich and Abbas Saad – have pulled on a Socceroos jersey, far fewer than many other migrant communities. Patrick Yazbek can add to that tally this week should he make his debut for the Socceroos.
The 2021 national census reported that almost a quarter of a million Australians have Lebanese heritage, of whom just over 87,000 were born in Lebanon, and three-quarters of those live in Sydney’s west.
It is a community that has been marginalised by incendiary race politics that fuelled the Cronulla riots of 2005, while more recently the federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said former prime minister Malcolm Fraser made “mistakes in bringing some people in the 1970s and we’re seeing that today”.
“Growing up in the vibrant Lebanese community of western Sydney was an enriching experience filled with a strong sense of pride in our heritage,” El-Hindi says.
“Despite the stigma attached to the community, I always felt a deep sense of belonging and support. It’s a community that values family, culture and resilience, and I’m proud to have been shaped by its warmth and spirit.”
For a small group, it is a pride that has manifested in pledging international allegiance to their homeland.
While there have been just three to date – Michael Reda, Buddy Farah and El-Hindi – it hasn’t been through want of trying from the Lebanese Football Association, who have targeted Nabbout and Tarek Elrich.
Khoury will be hoping to add his name to that list this week and, if he does, he won’t just be representing his paternal heritage, he’ll be representing the pride of an entire community.
