South Sudan Football Association
(SSFA) president Francis Amin adds: “I
am lobbying the government and trying
to convince them that sports need
support. I am working hard on that one.”
In 2012, South Sudan gained
independence, but civil war stymied the
implementation of the 2018 South
Sudan peace agreement as well as
social and economic progress. Sports
and football are not a priority in the
country and the SSFA is financially
dependent on both CAF and FIFA. The
African governing body distributes
$500,000 per year to the young
member association, but that funding
was reduced to $300,000 due to lack
of women’s football activity.
Last December, the SSFA took its first
steps to transform the domestic women’s
game by appointingJean Sseninde – a
former Uganda international who also
played for the likes of Crystal Palace and
Queens Park Rangers – in a consultancy
role to lead the federation’s four-year
women’s football strategy, Stars Unite. In
2019, South Sudan participated in the
regional CECAFA Women’s Football
Championship, but the new strategy will
still strongly focus on empowering
women to play. It is about breaking
barriers, according to Sseninde.
The SSFA has also benefited from
FIFA’s development programme,
receiving over $8 billion since 2016. By
comparison, neighbours Sudan have
received $5.72bn from the world
federation in the last four years. The
FIFA funding is helping the construction
of a national stadium inJuba at a cost of
$5.15 million. The SSFA is also planning
to upgrade stadiums in the cities of Wau
and Makalal.
Coincidentally, South Sudan was the
first African country to support Gianni
Infantino’s candidacy for FIFA president
in 2016. Then-SSFA president Chabur
Goc Alei was later banned from all
football-related activities for ten years
for misappropriation of FIFA
development money and bribery.
“Chabur is creating a lot of conflict
because he has been suspended for five
years,” says Amin. “We are trying to learn
from that mistake, to correct the
federation and put a system in place. All
the departments know how the system
works: how to use the FIFA money and
howtobetransparent.Wearetryingnot
to repeat the same history again.”
Besong knows that internal and
external politics are never far away. It is
something he picked up as coach of
Cameroon’s Under-20s, his first role on
the continent. Previously, he worked as a
coach under Sven-Goran Eriksson at
Leicester City.
He tempers sporting expectations as
SOUTH SUDANwell, even if Amin harbours dreams of
becoming a regional power in the
short-term.
Besong doesn’t entertain fanciful
ideas of possession football. The Bright
Stars have their limitations and so it is
the playing personnel that dictate
tactics. The former Bundesliga player
demands organisation and discipline
from his team. “I can’t say that we,
South Sudan, are going to play
offensive, stylish football - teams would
beat us10-0 every game,” explains
Besong. “We have to design a system
where we attack and defend compactly.
You have to develop local players to be
able to play against top professionals
coming from Europe and Israel.”
Besong, however, can count on the
experience and knowhow of players
from the diaspora in Australia, where
more than11,000 South Sudanese live.
At the start of the Africa Cup of Nations
qualifiers, he selected twelve Australia-
based players for his 32-man squad. In
November, six players from the Australia
contingent integrated the squad. “I’ve
got two scouts in Australia,” explains
Besong. “They always notify me of
players. Those players bring thatprofessionalism that helps the local
players to learn from them.”
Besong and the FA are also scouting
for players in Norway and Hungary.
Every avenue is being explored to
improve. The team can still reach the
Africa Cup of Nations with two
qualification matches remaining in
March. Bottom of Group B on three
points, South Sudan will play both
Burkina Faso and Malawi. Qualification
for the finals however is not a must
according to Besong, even though it
would be a confirmation of South
Sudan’s pedigree and reminiscent of the
triumphs of a united Sudan in the ‘70s.
“The country and the federation are
going in the right direction,” concludes
Besong. “I am a little bit satisfied. There
is a lot we can achieve and do. We need
the resources. If you don’t put money
into football, it will be difficult to achieve
anything. When we have those
resources, we will be able to compete
against other big nations. For now, I am
very satisfied. At the youth level, the
junior national teams are doing very
well. You might see one of the South
Sudanese national teams in the youth
African Cup of Nations. That would be a
very great achievement.”Juba Stadium...The
SSFA unveiled plans
for a new national
stadium on FacebookNational coach...
Ashu BesongConsultant...Jean Sseninde“The clubs have nothing, just a
name, a few balls, a few training
materials and an open space where
they train”
Ashu Besong, national team manager