How a Syrian war refugee made it into Austria’s national team

Born in Syria, he is playing his first competitive game for the national team. In 2015, at the age of 16, he fled the civil war in his home country and walked to Austria via Greece.

“A dream is coming true for me, I can represent my new homeland,” said Jarkas, according to a broadcast by Sportunion. For its President Peter McDonald, he is a prime example of how integration through sport can succeed. Through the “Rugby Opens Borders” initiative, the 25-year-old first found accommodation with his club, Rugby Union Donau Wien, and learned German.

In the meantime, Jarkas has become an integral part of the first team and, thanks to a special rule, can even represent Austria internationally. In rugby you can play for a national team if you have previously been registered in the country in question for 60 consecutive months.

Socially engaged

Last fall, the playmaker got his first taste of international air in a non-world-ranked friendly against Croatia.

The first official meeting is on Saturday, Austria meets Kosovo at the start of the qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Australia. However, the road to get there is a long one. On April 22nd there will be the second leg in the stadium of the Wiener Sport-Club, after that the qualifying wheels will really start to grind. Austria is currently only 87th in the world rankings.

In addition, Jarkas is also committed to young people with similar fates. As part of the integration project “Sport helps – Beyond Sport”, he leads weekly training sessions for underage, unaccompanied refugees. “Sport has opened many doors for me, so I want to give something back and give young refugees a perspective,” explained Jarkas.