Fighting for Hakeem (Paperback)

Football is the world game. It unites. At a grassroots level it creates communities and, in 2019, those communities helped save the life of one of its own. In 2012, Hakeem al-Araibi was a promising young player on Bahrain's national football team when he was arrested for attacking a police station during the Arab Spring, despite television footage showing him playing soccer at the time of the alleged attack. After three months of torture and wrongful imprisonment, Hakeem was released. He fled the country and made his way to Australia, where he was granted refugee status. Hakeem made a life here and was playing for the suburban Pascoe Vale Football Club, in Melbourne. He thought he was safe. But, in November 2018, on a holiday to Thailand with his wife, Hakeem was again arrested. The Bahraini government wanted to extradite him to face a ten-year jail sentence, or worse. What happened next shows the best of what soccer can do, and the worst the governing body of FIFA brings. If it wasn't for the Australian soccer community and former Socceroo Craig Foster, Hakeem may never have been freed. This powerful memoir reveals how a local soccer legend fought tirelessly to help bring home a man he'd never met. From Pascoe Vale to Switzerland, Canberra to Thailand, Foster raised his voice and tens of thousands of Australians were galvanised to #FreeHakeem. Foster lobbied FIFA and the United Nations and worked with human rights organisations worldwide to enable Hakeem's safe return to his wife in Australia. Despite being from different backgrounds, religions and generations, Craig Foster and Hakeem al-Araibi are united forever through their love of the world game and their fight for freedom.

General

Imprint:	Hachette Australia
Country of origin:	Australia
Release date:	October 2019
Authors:	Craig Foster • Alex Engel-Mallon
Dimensions:	234 x 152 x 34mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	320
ISBN-13:	978-0-7336-4316-3
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Sport Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > Social law > General Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Sporting events, tours & organisations > Sports governing bodies Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > Football (Soccer, Association football) > General Books > Biography > Sport Promotions
LSN:	0-7336-4316-7
Barcode:	9780733643163

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!