Nestory Irankunda

Adelaide United won 2–1 at full time after Irankunda scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute.

His goal received media attention and praise from manager Carl Veart simply stating, "This is the talent that Nestor has."

Irankunda dedicated the goal to Spanish teammate and friend Juande, who broke his leg in a 3–3 draw with Melbourne City a week earlier.

Irankunda furthered his reputation as a key player off the bench after scoring in three consecutive appearances for Adelaide United in the matches against Melbourne Victory (1–1), Melbourne City (4–2), and Newcastle Jets (4–2).

He was awarded A-League Goal of the Month in February for his goal against Melbourne Victory.

Troubled with disciplinary issues, Irankunda was openly criticised by the media for his rash actions.

He notably starting a brawl in the match against Western Sydney Wanderers that led Wanderers' captain Marcelo getting sent-off for headlocking Irankunda after he provoked Calem Nieuwenhof.

Another incident occurred on 23 April 2023 against Perth Glory when Irankunda received a booking for kicking the broadcaster’s pitchside microphone.

In the same match against Perth, Irankunda scored his 5th goal of the season in the 99th-minute of a 4–4 draw at the Perth Rectangular Stadium.

Nestory "Nestor" Irankunda (born 9 February 2006) is a professional soccer player who plays as a winger for A-League club Adelaide United.

He will join German club Bayern Munich in July 2024.

Born in Tanzania, Irankunda has represented Australia at youth level.

Irankunda played youth football in Adelaide playing for Parafield Gardens SC and Adelaide Croatia Raiders at NPL level before moving to Adelaide United.

He started his professional career when he signed a scholarship contract in September 2021, following his league debut in January 2022, becoming the sixth youngest debutant in A-League history.

He scored his first league goal the same year, becoming the second youngest goalscorer in the competition.

An Australian youth international, Irankunda was called up to the Australia national team but only made appearances on the bench.

At youth level, he helped lead the Australia U17 squad to qualification for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, scoring eleven goals in total.

Irankunda holds the record for the most goals scored before the age of 18 in the A-League, and upon making his 50th league appearance for Adelaide United against Perth Glory on 9 February 2024, became the youngest player to play 50 A-League matches.

Nestory Irankunda was born on 9 February 2006 in Kigoma, Tanzania, the third eldest child with two older brothers and five younger sisters to Gideon, a rideshare driver, and his wife, Dafroza.

His parents were originally from Burundi, but fled their home due to the Burundi Civil War escalating at the time.

His father led his family to a refugee camp in Tanzania where Nestory was born.

They soon moved to Perth in Western Australia, when Nestory was three months old, before moving to the northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia in 2013.

Growing up in a Christian home, Irankunda found his love of football whilst playing with his older brothers in the yard of his home.

At the age of eight, Nestory played for his first football club at Parafield Gardens after being spotted by the under-10s coach of the local club.

During his junior years in Australian football, he played with Northern Wolves and Parafield Gardens before being scouted and signed by National Premier Leagues (NPL) side Adelaide Croatia Raiders.

During his time in the youth levels for the Raiders, he caught the attention of many scouts in the area including Airton Andrioli, the head of youth for A-League side Adelaide United, who eventually invited him to trial for the youth squad before offering a permanent spot after a couple of weeks.

When asked about Irankunda in an interview in 2023, Andrioli stated, "When you see a boy like Nestory, some players have that naturally. That gift of understanding and reading the game. Being street smart. You don’t see that a lot in Australian players. That’s why Nestory from the start had that kind of thing."

In his first year for Adelaide United, Irankunda initially played with the reserve side.

After a couple of weeks, he started featuring for Adelaide United NPL side.

Despite being 15 at the time, he accumulated 26 appearances and 12 goals in total for both the senior and reserve squad for the Reds.

On 27 September 2021, Irankunda signed a scholarship contract (his first professional contract) with Adelaide United.

On 8 January 2022, at the age of 15 years and 333 days, Irankunda became the sixth youngest player in A-League history and the third youngest player ever for Adelaide United, when he made his debut against rivals Melbourne Victory, drawing 1–1 at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

On 30 January, Irakunda scored his first league goal, a free kick in stoppage time to win the game 2–1 against Newcastle Jets.

His goal made him the second youngest goalscorer in the league at the age of 15 years and 355 days after Mohamed Toure who scored at the age of 15 years and 325 days.

He scored his second league goal, coming off the bench to score the winner in a 2–1 home win over Central Coast Mariners on 27 February.

On 24 April, he increased his goalscoring tally to three after he scored a stoppage time goal and helped his side secure a 2–0 win against Perth Glory.

His brief cameo won him the Tomas Dale Medal for his sporting manner in the club.

On 26 May, Irankunda was selected in the A-Leagues All Stars squad, alongside teammates Isaías Sánchez and Alexandar Popovic, to face Spanish giants Barcelona.

In November 2022, Irankunda would miss the first Original Rivalry match of the 2022–23 season after facing a month suspension from the club for turning up late to several team meetings, as well as not doing the "chores" associated to being one of the club’s younger players.

Upon his return, Irankunda scored his first goal of the season in a home match against Brisbane Roar on 4 February 2023.