Ezidi refugee Sulaiman Zandinan, who survived ISIS captivity as a child, has built a new life in Australia through football and is now recognised as a rising referee in Queensland.
Zandinan was 12 years old when ISIS attacked the Ezidi people in Şengal in August 2014. During the genocide, he and members of his family were taken captive by ISIS. His family endured 19 months in captivity before eventually rebuilding their lives after resettling in Australia.
He arrived in Australia with his parents and siblings in 2018 as refugees. Since then, football has become one of the main paths through which he has found purpose, stability and a new future.
Zandinan has loved football since childhood. After settling in Queensland, he became involved in the sport not as a player, but as a referee — a role that is often demanding, pressured and essential to the game.
He now officiates in Queensland’s top state football competitions, including FQPL1 and FQPL2. His ambition is to continue progressing as a referee and one day officiate at the highest level in Australian football.
His story has drawn attention in Australia as part of a wider focus on how football can help refugees and survivors of war rebuild their lives. For Zandinan, the sport has become more than a game. It has given him discipline, direction and a way to contribute to the society in which he now lives.
He also uses his experience to support other Ezidi families who are starting again in Australia. Having gone through displacement, trauma and resettlement himself, Zandinan understands the challenges many new arrivals face when trying to build a life in an unfamiliar country.
From surviving ISIS captivity to standing on football pitches in Australia as a referee, Zandinan’s path shows how sport can become a place of recovery, responsibility and representation.
