The saying “follow your dreams” never sat right with south-west Sydney local Enes Mohammad. What if you can’t afford to follow them?

Mohammad plays a key role in organizing the Pick Your Poison showcase, which is a collaboration of grassroots football initiatives united to achieve a common purpose: taking a group of 16 men and teenagers to compete in the Madrid Cup.

The alliance, which includes Project Volta, Field Invasion, Talente FC, and YB United, was formed to tackle “the systemic barriers” that young athletes encounter within Sydney’s most economically challenged regions.

“Saying ‘follow your dreams’ might sound like a cliché… we reside in a nation where systemic obstacles are placed before us,” mentioned Mohammad, the Pick Your Poison organiser and co-founder of Project Volta.

“Your level and your profession in football should not be dependent on your socio-economic level… just because you live in Bass Hill and someone else lives in Vaucluse, that person should not have a better likelihood of going professional than you.

“It (should) all come down to your talent and drive, but that’s not the case (in Australia).

“We have a very out-of-date, ridiculously shaped system…everything is pay to play… you don’t have money for an academy? You can’t play, (and) there are no scholarships.” 

Mohammad grew up playing soccer in Bass Hill, in Sydney’s south-west. He says being able to be a part of an opportunity like this felt like “his purpose” in life.

“We used to have a lot of players that we grew up with, friends and family that you would see how good they are,” Mohammad said.

“It would blow your mind the ridiculous talent that they had, but we didn’t have these opportunities growing up.”

“We knew well in our hearts that we have good enough footballers in Australia to at least go to Spain, whether or not they’re successful is another story… as long as they are playing in front of the scouts.

“That’s all that matters.”

The team consists of men aged 16 to 19 from areas in Sydney like Casula, Arncliffe, Rockdale, Liverpool, Lurnea, Brighton and Penrith.

Romeo Jambrek is one of the hopefuls trying to make it to Spain.

Jambrek lives in Canberra, but says it’s nearly impossible to find opportunities to “go pro” outside of his hometown.

“This opportunity doesn’t come around often, I’ve travelled from Canberra to Sydney just to join and hopefully get the opportunity to play (in Madrid),” Jambrek said.

“It would be a massive opportunity for me…all my life, since I was young, my dream and aspiration was to be a professional footballer.”

“I’m of Croatian ethnicity… my grandma’s favourite team is Dinamo Zagreb, she said if she saw me play for that team it would be amazing, that’s the team I’ve dreamed of playing for.”

The coalition has already put on a successful showcase event in Sydney and is now trying to raise money to send their team to the Madrid Cup.