AFLQ talent scout and former Sydney captain Mark Browning says the inspiring story of refugee turned AFL footballer Aliir Aliir has gone to another level.

Aliir will make his senior debut for the Swans against Brisbane at the Gabba on Sunday.

Aliir’s life and journey to the big time has been remarkable.

He was born in a Kenyan refugee camp in 1994 to Sudanese parents and his family fled Africa when he was seven years old.

media_camera Aliir Aliir will make his AFL debut for the Swans this weekend. Picture: Mark Evans

They eventually settled in Brisbane where he first played Australian football as a 14-year-old with Aspley Hornets.

He represented a World under-16 team at the national titles in Sydney in 2010 and discovered that a teammate was a long-lost cousin.

The chance meeting helped reunite Aliir’s mother with her sister in Perth for the first time since they were separated in Sudan.

After representing the Queensland under-18 side in 2012, when he also played in the NEAFL for Aspley, Aliir and his family moved to WA where he played for East Fremantle and was drafted at the end of 2013.

It’s an amazing story but don’t underestimate how hard he has had to work in a great environment like the Swans.

- Mark Browning

In his role as AFL Queensland talent manager, Browning first saw Aliir as a raw teenager and remembers him arriving late for an under-18 grand final after a car breakdown.

Browning, who played 251 games for the Swans between 1975 and 1987 and won the club’s best-and-fairest award in 1983, said Aliir had done a remarkable job to earn his stripes at the Swans.

“Early on, like a lot of boys at that age, he was a bit hit and miss. We cut him a bit of slack but he eventually knuckled down,’’ Browning said.

“It’s an amazing story but don’t underestimate how hard he has had to work in a great environment like the Swans.

“I didn’t expect him to get drafted, but getting drafted by Sydney was a case of right place, right time.

“I thought, ‘Thank God he’s gone there’. I knew that environment would be really good for him. I knew they would look after him.

“He’s had to tick a lot of boxes to get this opportunity. Sydney don’t hand games to players. He has earned the right.’’

media_camera Aliir Aliir in action for Queensland at the under-18 national championships in 2012. Picture: Andrew Brownbill

Aliir will replace key defender Ted Richards, who fractured his cheekbone in the Swans’ 39-point win over West Coast last week. He is expecting to have almost 25-30 family and friends at the Gabba on Sunday.

Swans coach John Longmire told Aliir of his senior call-up at a team meeting on Wednesday.

“He has been putting together a great body of work in our reserves,’' Longuir said.

“He’s played five or six weeks of quality football and deserves his opportunity.”