A boxer's dream of representing Australia at the Olympics is one step closer, after receiving a green light on his visa application.
A chef by day, Fred Zziwa has put in the "extra mile" to achieve his boxing goals in a gym in the South Australian coastal town of Victor Habor.
But Mr Zziwa, who was born in Uganda, has faced additional hurdles in his goal to represent the country.
After being on a succession of temporary visas since he was teenager, he has now been given a permanent visa in recognition of his sporting achievement.
The Global Talent visa is for reserved for people with "an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement" in the areas of a profession, sport, arts, or academia and research.
Mr Zziwa applied for the visa in 2021 after being nominated by Boxing Australia, and received the good news earlier this week.
"Champagne bottles are being shaken because it's been a long ride ... this is my home too," he said.
His coach, Mark Nethercott, said the permanent visa has given Mr Zziwa some "certainty about his future".
"We were just really happy for Fred," he said.
"He's lived in Australia most of his adult life, he's a real big part of the community down in Victor Harbor."
Mr Nethercott said there was more work to be done to get Mr Zziwa to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"We've got a few more hurdles to get through yet," he said.
"We've got the residency — the next step is we've got people working to get him his citizenship, we're confident that will happen."
In the meantime, their immediate focus will be on the world championships in May.
"He's a big chance of getting on the podium for that," Mr Nethercott said.
"We've got to jump up a weight division to get to Paris, but he's definitely world class, so we think he can go far."
