Friday October 2, 2015
2015 Bachar Houli medal: Mohammad Saad (Lebanese heritage) Bachar Houli (Richmond FC) Mohamed Mohamed (Somali Heritage, born in Kenya) and Musa Amina (Afghanistan Heritage). Photo: Mirza Hassan
The joint winners of this year's Bachar Houli leadership medal are Musa Amin and Mohamed Mohamed.
Amin, 17, was born in Afghanistan and plays for Noble Park, while Mohamed, who is also 17, is of Somalian heritage but was born in Kenya and plays for the Calder Cannons. Third was Muhammad Saad, brother of Gold Coast Suns player, Adam Saad.
The medal is voted on by those who attend the Bachar Houli AFL Academy Camp which this year took 35 youths aged between 15 and 17 from more than 300 applicants. The camp, which lasts for six days and is sponsored by the federal government, focuses on football, leadership and religious and cultural development. Helping run the camp were AFL players Adam Saad and Ahmed Saad, and GWS cultural officer Ali Faraj.
At the end of the camp, the attendees are required to vote for the person they think meets the 27 characteristics identified by Houli as constituting "the wall of success". This includes qualities such as honesty, trust, passion, pride, poise, voice and ability.
Speaking after the award was announced, Bachar Houli said, "I'm so proud to see how far this program has grown since I started it four years ago".