- Muslim Lael Kassem is competing for a spot in the AFL women's league
- She wore a hijab while playing on Saturday with her team, the GWS Giants
- The Giants battled the Sydney Swans during the women's exhibition match
- Ms Kassem grew up playing AFL with her nine brothers
Muslim AFL player Lael Kassem competed with her team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, on Saturday in a bid to win a spot in the first AFL women's league.
Wearing a white hijab and her orange and black Giants jersey, Ms Kassem and her team played the Sydney Swans in the AFL women's exhibition match at Sydney Cricket Grounds.
The Giants, which has ties to primarily Muslim team Auburn Giants, put in a bid earlier this month to be one of eight teams to compete in the AFL women's league that will begin in 2017, according to The Daily Telegraph [2].
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Muslim AFL player Lael Kassem (pictured) wore a white hijab when she competed with her team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, on Saturday in a bit to win a spot in the first AFL women's league
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Ms Kassem's (pictured right) team, the Giants, which has ties to primarily Muslim team Auburn Giants, put in a bid earlier this month to be one of eight teams to compete in the AFL women's league that will begin in 2017
Nicola Barr of the Swans (right) marks during the Women's AFL exhibition match
Ms Kassem grew up playing AFL with her nine brothers after they were introduced to the sport during a school trip, according to The Sydney Morning Herald[3].
It was a fun and safe activity for the large brood after they moved to Australia from Lebanon with their parents in 1976.
'Our family came in 1976 just after the civil war in Lebanon when Australia was looking for unskilled migrants,' her older brother Salem Kassem said.
Ms Kassem (right) grew up playing AFL with her nine brothers after their family moved to Australia from Lebanon in 1976
'My parents didn't speak English or know the culture. We only ventured out of the house to go to school because we were scared.'
'That was really our first venture outside the house,' he said.
The hobby soon became a passion for most of the family and now several of the siblings play for the Auburn Tigers in the Sydney AFL, according to The Age[4].
In 2013, Ms Kassem was the recipient of the Greater Western Sydney Giants Women in Community Footba ll Award for her dedication to the sport.
Nicola Barr of the Swans (left) contests the ball with Lael Kassem (right) during the match on Saturday
References
- ^ Brianne Tolj For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ The Daily Telegraph (www.dailytelegraph.com.au)
- ^ The Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au)
- ^ The Age (www.theage.com.au)
Source → Muslim hijab-wearing AFL player competes for a spot in the top women's league with the Greater Western Sydney Giants
