A teacher from the Western Australian outback has helped lead Pakistan to an unlikely sporting triumph.
Michael Gallus, a former part-time AFL recruiter and now a teacher at Noonkanbah in the Central Kimberley, had just a few weeks to recruit and train a group of players to compete at the 2022 Asian Championships in Thailand earlier this month.
While most teams were bolstered by Aussie expats, including former AFL players and current WAFL stars, the Pakistan side consisted entirely of Pakistani nationals.
Gallus's connection with Pakistani footy began in 2017 when he coached a women's team at a tournament in Australia.
He spent three weeks travelling around Pakistan to recruit male players for this year's event, with more than 300 footballers vying to represent their country.
"We did a training camp with the top 25 that I selected and I didn't have time to teach them how to kick technically correctly, but we derived a style where we just kicked it forward," Gallus said.
Ruckman Talha Yousaf was introduced to the sport four years ago and was named captain.
"What really excites me about the game is how quickly things can change," he said.
After a 1-point win over Cambodia in their semi-final, the Pakistanis found themselves 22 points down at half-time in the division three grand final.
Facing a Laos side featuring two WAFL players, Talha said a comeback seemed impossible, but Gallus implored his men to "storm over the top".
"It was just an absolute miracle," Gallus said.
"We kicked seven goals in 10 minutes and won by 23 points."
A sport on the rise in Asia
According to AFL international development manager Simon Highfield, Australian football has been played in Asia for 30 years, with this year's 22nd edition of the Asian Championships featuring 21 teams.
Papua New Guinea claimed the men's division one title, Thailand won division two, and Singapore won the women's event.
Former Sydney Swan Troy Luff lined up for the Indonesia Volcanoes, which also had Essendon premiership player Rick Olarenshaw in their coaching set-up.
"Pakistan were a bit of a dark horse in that they hadn't participated before and no-one had seen them play," Highfield said.
"They came out with real enthusiasm and their passion for football was unrivalled."
Highfield said Pakistan's win highlighted the sport's potential on the sub-continent, where cricket fields can host games of football and sports fans have existing connections with Australia.
Next year, the team will be promoted to division two.
After a successful tournament, Yousaf even had an invitation to play footy in WA and is hoping to inspire more Pakistanis to take up the sport.
"We definitely see a lot of potential, and now that we have been able to compete here and win … a lot of people are going to be joining the game," he said.
Back on Australian soil, Gallus will return to the footy-mad community of Noonkanbah, which produced former Western Bulldogs player Zephaniah Skinner.
"Football's about teamwork and about discipline and respect and passion and having fun," he said.
"You can do it in Noonkanbah, you can do it in Melbourne, you can do it in Perth, and happily now you can do it … across Pakistan."
