Elvis Kamsoba has a story to match the name. The Avondale FC livewire was crowned on Tuesday night as the inaugural winner of the Michael Cockerill Medal for the best player from an NPL team in this year's FFA Cup. The honour caps off a remarkable journey, but there could be much more yet to come.

Born in war-torn Burundi, Kamsoba's family fled to Tanzania when he was just four months old. He spent the next 11 years of his life in a refugee camp. It was there he fell in love with football, although he and his mates had to kick around condoms filled with clothes in lieu of an actual ball.

Elvis Kamsoba of Avondale FC (right) was awarded the Cockerill Medal for the best NPL player in the FFA Cup on Tuesday. Credit:AAP

"We couldn't afford a ball," Kamsoba told Fairfax Media. "Life was very hard. There wasn't much else to do - go to school, come back home and kick about with your friends."

Kamsoba's ticket to freedom eventually came in 2008, when his family moved in Australia and settled in Adelaide. He immediately registered with a club and quickly rose through the ranks in Adelaide. A move to Melbourne soon followed. Kamsoba signed for Avondale this season and was one of their most dynamic attacking weapons as they reached the FFA Cup quarter-finals and the NPL Victoria grand final.