Published: June 15, 2026
MONROVIA — Mohamed Touré, born to Liberian parents in a Guinea refugee camp, took the field at the FIFA World Cup this week, playing 74 minutes as Australia beat Turkey 2-0 and carrying his family’s Liberian roots onto football’s biggest stage.
The 21-year-old forward enters the tournament on the strength of a breakout 2025-26 season with Norwich City, scoring nine goals in 11 Championship appearances since joining the English club in January. That form has positioned him for a leading role in the Socceroos’ attack.
Touré’s story began long before the goals and the international recognition. His parents fled Liberia’s civil war and spent 14 years in a refugee camp in Guinea before resettling in Australia, where the family arrived when Touré was 7 months old.
“I have a story before football, the same story after football,” Touré said.
He came up through football in Adelaide and made his A-League debut at 15, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the competition’s history, a record he still holds. He later moved to France and debuted for Ligue 1 club Reims at 19, then enjoyed a productive spell with Danish side Randers FC that included a two-goal performance against Brondby. He scored twice for Australia against New Zealand in late 2025 to help secure his place in the World Cup squad.
Touré has kept a strong connection to Liberia, sustained through regular conversations with his father, Amara.
“It’s always going to feel like home when I hear the word Liberia,” Touré said. “It’s where I feel like I belong. It’s my home. No matter how tough it gets or how rough it gets, I will never abandon it. I’ll never stop caring for it.”
Touré said he remains proud of his Liberian roots and appreciative of his ties to Guinea, but credited Australia with giving his family a fresh start.
“Australia was the land that gave us opportunity, that lent us a helping hand,” he said. “I never imagined my career trajectory would take me to a World Cup and playing for Norwich as a refugee.”
Liberia did not qualify for the World Cup, but the country remains represented by several players of Liberian heritage. United States striker Haji Wright and Marseille winger Timothy Weah, son of football legend and former President George Weah, are also competing at the tournament.
Touré’s rise from a refugee camp to the World Cup stands as a marker of perseverance and opportunity, and of a connection to Liberia he says he will not let go.
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