'People just assume I'm Tunisian' - the Irishman at Club World Cup

From the pitches of Dublin to the Fifa Club World Cup successful the United States, Ayman Ben Mohamed has been connected a travel improbable to ever beryllium replicated by different League of Ireland player.

Raised successful the Republic of Ireland, Ben Mohamed - whose begetter is Tunisian - present plays for Esperance, 1 of Africa's biggest clubs and implicit the adjacent fortnight volition enactment up against Chelsea, Flamengo and Los Angeles FC successful what volition beryllium the 30-year-old's 2nd quality astatine the Club World Cup.

"Of people everyone is precise excited astir the opportunity," Ben Mohamed tells BBC Sport.

"It's monolithic - you don't ever get the accidental to play against satellite people teams.

"We're each looking guardant to it and evidently we volition beryllium facing precise high-level absorption truthful we're hoping conscionable to spell determination and springiness a bully relationship of ourselves, to trial ourselves against immoderate astonishing sides."

Ben Mohamed began his nonrecreational vocation astatine UCD, earlier besides turning retired for Longford Town and Bohemians. In 2016, helium swapped Dalymount Park successful Dublin for the 65,000-capacity Hammadi Agrebi Stadium - location to Tunisian giants Esperance.

Over the adjacent 3 years, Ben Mohamed won 3 consecutive Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 titles and back-to-back CAF Champions Leagues successful 2018 and 2019. It was a melodramatic displacement successful unit for the left-back, with Esperance expected to triumph each trophy for which they vie by the club's famously vociferous supporters.

"It did instrumentality a small spot of clip to accommodate to that but it's truly enjoyable to play successful this situation and I've ever had an astonishing narration with the fans here," Ben Mohamed explains.

"They've ever been precise bully to maine and I ever felt I had their support. It's 1 of the things I emotion astir astir the club."

Ben Mohamed is presently successful his 2nd spell with Esperance having moved distant from the nine successful 2019. He played for French sides Le Havre and Guignamp, and connected indebtedness successful Turkey with Denizlispor, earlier returning to Tunisia successful 2024.

"When I archetypal came to Tunisia it was ever with the presumption that I'd effort to get backmost to Europe if I had the opportunity. But it was inactive a precise hard determination [to permission successful 2019] and it took maine a agelong clip to marque it.

"I was 24 and it felt similar a bully clip to effort thing antithetic and effort to amended arsenic a player. I had immoderate large experiences successful those 5 years but I ever stayed successful interaction with Esperance.

"If I was ever going to travel backmost to Tunisia, it would lone beryllium Esperance. Then past twelvemonth the circumstances were close and it wasn't a precise hard prime for maine to travel back."

Now 1 of the elder players successful the dressing room, Ben Mohamed is acceptable to get different changeable astatine the Club World Cup. At the 2025 tournament, the ex-Bohemians defender volition play 2 matches successful Philadelphia - a metropolis that is location to the second-biggest Irish American colonisation successful the United States.

He says that galore section supporters mightiness beryllium shocked to observe they stock his heritage.

"People spot my sanction and they conscionable presume that I'm Tunisian.

"A batch of radical would deliberation I was Tunisian erstwhile I was successful Ireland but present successful Tunisia they telephone maine 'Irish' due to the fact that of the mode I look.

"It surprises radical due to the fact that I look much Irish; I look a batch much similar my parent than my dad. People expect maine to person an Irish sanction and past they spot 'Ben Mohamed'."

It has been 9 years since Ben Mohamed near Bohemians but helium inactive feels a beardown transportation to Ireland and remains successful interaction with immoderate of his erstwhile team-mates.

"I support successful interaction with a fewer backmost successful Ireland and I bash inactive travel Irish shot too, particularly Bohemians," helium adds.

"I adjacent effort to spell to ticker games erstwhile I'm backmost location and support tabs connected the League of Ireland. More fans are coming to ticker games - it's growing, which is positive."

The revamped 2025 Club World Cup represents different caller shot acquisition for Ben Mohamed, who is grateful for the opportunities afforded to him connected his unsocial vocation way from the Republic of Ireland to Tunisia.

"Growing up successful Ireland, it's mean that you privation to get implicit the waters to the UK - that's the emblematic benignant of journey, the aspirations of a young subordinate successful Ireland. I cognize that it [playing successful Tunisia] thing precise different.

"I've had experiences that not a batch of players person - the accidental to play successful a fewer antithetic leagues and of people successful Africa, which is conscionable specified an absorbing place.

"It's surely not thing an Irish subordinate would typically do."