AUSSIE kid Garang Kuol has been called into the Socceroos national side for their forthcoming games against New Zealand with Ange Postecoglou pointing to the benefits that a rich immigration policy has on the culture of a country.

Postecoglou’s family were one of many Europeans who uprooted in the 1960s to head to Australia with their influence heavy in the increased popularity of football, a minority sport in the country. At 17 Kuol has been heavily linked with Newcastle while one of his brothers, Alou, is at Stuttgart.

Of Sudanese parentage, Kuol‘s emergence in Australian football is indicative of the influence that African refugees will now bring to the modern development of the game with Postecoglou embracing the cultural benefits that involves.

“He is definitely a talent,” said Postecoglou. “He has a brother in Germany as well – he comes from a very talented family. Australian football has been closely aligned to Australia’s immigration policy. In my generation there were a lot of immigrants who settled there from a European background and some of our best footballing prospects came from those families.

“It is a similar scenario now with a lot of immigration coming from Africa and African nations and they are bringing their love of football to Australia. Kuol is one of those who comes from an immigrant background who is forging his way and there is some real talent coming through.

“He and his brother have already shown that they are a couple of very talented footballers and hopefully they continue their progress. Australian benefits from that and that is what immigration does for you. A lot of people see it from the immigrant’s point of view but it does a helluva lot for the country as well.”