Pittwater House Year 9 Grammar student, Cameron Peupion, has been one of 23 teens selected for the Australian U-16 Football Squad who are currently on their way to the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Championship Qualifiers in Mongolia. 

The squad, known as the Joeys, will start play on Wednesday 20 September and go through to Sunday 24 September 2017.  Their matches will see them take on the hosts, Mongolia, as well as Cambodia and Vietnam.

If the Joeys finish top of Group I in Mongolia the squad will then compete at the 2018 AFC U-16 Championships to be held in Malaysia in September and October 2018.  

There is also a second chance entry with the five best group runners-up being invited to complete into the Championships.

Cameron’s interest in football started at a very young age and his passion and talent for the game has continued to grow. His journey started at the age of 4, when he joined local team, the Wakehurst Tigers. He got selected to play representative soccer for Manly United when he was 9 years old. There he learnt the foundations of the game and acquired skills to equip him to play in the National Premier Youth League. At the age of 13 Cameron was asked to join the Sydney FC Academy,   thanks to the great coaching he received at Manly United.

Cameron currently trains three times a week with Sydney FC at Valentine's Sports Park in Glenwood. The Sydney FC Academy could be argued to be one of the best places in Australia for youth development in the game. Out of 23 players in the Joeys squad, five of the boys come from Sydney FC.

The Peupion family are about to embark on a once in a lifetime trip and will be there in Mongolia cheering the team on.

Cameron’s mother, Toni Peupion, said, “Our family is unbelievably proud of what Cameron has achieved! It has been a lifetime dream to represent Australia and his hard work and dedication has finally paid off. We can't wait to see him walking onto the pitch wearing green and gold and representing his country for the very first time.”

“To reach this level Cameron has been told that having a good attitude and being a team player are attributes that can make a difference to whether or not someone gets selected. We are delighted therefore that he has shown the coaches what he is capable of both on and off the pitch.”

Following Mongolia, Cameron will then go to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for the Australian National Championships where he'll be representing the NSW team for a week long tournament against other states.