Kenjok "Kenny" Athiu (born 5 August 1992) is a South Sudanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Cambodian Premier League The Cambodian Premier League ( km, លីគកំពូលកម្ពុជា, ) is the highest professional football division in Cambodia and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Cambodian League 2. Starting with the 2022 ...

club

Visakha Visakha ( pi, Visākhā; sa, Viśākhā), also known as Migāramāta, was a wealthy aristocratic woman who lived during the time of Gautama Buddha. She is considered to have been the chief female patron of the Buddha. Visakha founded the temple ...

and the

South Sudan national football team The South Sudan national football team represents South Sudan in international football and is controlled by the South Sudan Football Association, the governing body for football in South Sudan. History Zoran Đorđević was appointed on 25 M ...

Club career

Youth

Athiu joined

South Springvale SC South Springvale FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Springvale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed by local Greek Australians in 1968, as 'Sandown Dynamo'. The club currently competes in the Victoria ...

in 2006 at 14 years of age, and became a member of the first team three years later. In 2012, Athiu signed a short term deal with rivals

Springvale White Eagles Springvale White Eagles Football Club is a semi-professional Australian association football, soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria currently playing in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 3, NPL Victoria 3. Founded by Serbian Australians, t ...

, with the success from the Springvale based clubs later earning him a deal with the more prominent

Victorian State League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

side

Box Hill United Box Hill United Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 3. United is based at Wembley Park in Box Hill South. ...

in the same year. Following more success, in 2014 Athiu signed for

Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...

in the

NPL Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer lea ...

Melbourne Victory

After initially being linked with a move to

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

, Athiu signed his first professional contract with

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

in October 2017 on a season-long loan from

. Victory coach

Kevin Muscat Kevin Vincent Muscat (born 7 August 1973) is an Australian former association football player and the current manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, he represented the Australia national team at international level winning 46 caps and sco ...

initially stated that it would be some time before Athiu would make the first team due to injury and fitness concerns. Nevertheless, Athiu made his debut for the club as a substitute in a draw with

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

on 6 November after a number of Melbourne's attacking players were unavailable for the game. On 18 June 2018, Athiu signed a new two-year contract with Melbourne Victory. On 28 August 2020, Melbourne Victory announced that Athiu would not be receiving a new contract.

International career

Athiu was eligible to represent his nation of birth of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

or his country of residence in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

prior to making his competitive debut for

against

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

on 4 September 2019 in the first leg of the first round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Athiu was substituted on David Majak Chan at the 54th minute and assisted in the equalizing goal of the eventual 1–1 draw.

Personal life

Athiu was born in Sudan but left with his family as a

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

in the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...

, first to Kenya (aged four) and then to Australia (aged eleven). He initially settled in

Keysborough Keysborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Keysborough recorded a population of 30,018 at the . ...

, before moving to

Noble Park Noble Park is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Noble Park recorded a population of 32,257 at the . ...

and then

Narre Warren Narre Warren is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 38 km southeast of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey local government area. Narre Warren recorded a population of 27,689 at the 2021 census. ...

. Athiu has seven siblings, and is good friends with former teammate

Thomas Deng Thomas Jok Deng (born 20 March 1997) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Japanese club Albirex Niigata. Born a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, he has represented the Australia national team. Personal ...

, with both their families having known each other since they were children.

Career statistics

Footnotes

:A. Includes appearances in the

FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Australia ...

. :B. Includes appearances in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

. :C. Includes appearances in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

finals.

Honours

Club

;

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state-based ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

National Premier Leagues Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

Premiership:

Dockerty Cup The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the former president of Football Federation Victoria Harry Dockerty. ...

;

A-League Championship A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professionalism in association football, professional men's association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Austral ...

: 2017–18

Individual

Golden Boot:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athiu, Kenny 1992 births Living people Australian soccer players South Sudanese footballers South Sudanese expatriate footballers South Sudan international footballers Association football forwards Springvale White Eagles FC players Melbourne Victory FC players National Premier Leagues players A-League Men players Australian people of South Sudanese descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent Expatriate soccer players in Australia Heidelberg United FC players South Springvale SC players Expatriate footballers in Cambodia Soccer players from Melbourne People from Narre Warren