Melbourne United Multicultural Stories: Makuach Maluach

Written by Melbourne United Media 

Moving homes is never easy, a fact which doesn’t exclude even the world's best athletes, including Melbourne United high-flyer Makuach Maluach, who has already lived on four different continents all before turning 25.

Born in Uganda as the fourth of six brothers, Maluach has fond memories of watching sports with his siblings, and less fond memories of the climate.

“In Africa football (soccer) is a big thing, we used to watch that, we all went for the same team… I think it was a good thing because my mum didn’t have to break up fights when our teams played each other,” he laughed.

“It was pretty hot (in Uganda), there’s really only one season, just hot all the time.”

At the age of 10, Maluach moved to Australia with his family, as they dealt with the challenge of learning a new language and assimilating into a new culture.

“It was pretty difficult at first, my brothers were here before we moved to Australia doing Uni. After they got settled they came back and got us to come to Australia.

“It was pretty different at the beginning, we didn’t speak English, so we had to learn, do ESL… it was pretty hard to balance but I’m grateful now to be able to speak English and (my native language) Dinka. “

The resilience he showed in adjusting to his new surroundings translated to the basketball court, with the wing impressing enough to earn a scholarship to play at the University of New Mexico in America, where he would spend four years.

Getting used to life in the States took some time for the young athlete, but ultimately turned into some of the best years of his life.

“It was very different, Australia is very laid back but America is very full on.

“I had the best four years of my life in New Mexico. It was something different, I got my degree there, it played a huge part in my life.”

The heat of New Mexico was a world away from the next stop of his basketball journey, which took Maluach to Finland for his first professional season.

“That was probably the most difficult time of my life, I’d never seen so much snow in my life, it was cold all the time, and the food? No comment,” he chuckled.

“Basketball wise it was good, good people… as long as I’m playing basketball I’m happy.”

Now back in Australia with Melbourne United, Maluach is thrilled to be closer to family which playing for a team that has embraced his culture and background.

Much like Josh Duach, Maluach said perhaps the proudest moment of the young season was the moment he shared the court with Duach, as well as his fellow South Sudenese teammates David Okwera and Malith Machar.

“It was a very proud moment for us and our culture. There are obviously a lot of Sudenese players in the league at the moment and that’s great for the Sudenese community and the younger kids growing up wanting to be basketball players.”

Melbourne will play the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday afternoon in The Multicultural Game, with limited tickets still available!

The day will also feature a Multicultural Festival outside John Cain Arena from 2pm featuring activities, stalls, food, music and much more!