They finished 17th out of 32 participating countries, an achievement that has lifted Africa’s youngest state to the eye of the world.
The Luol Deng-led South Sudanese Basketball Federation started the journey here in Nairobi in 2020, and three years later, they are a force to reckon with in global basketball.
Their performances and achievements have inspired a whole generation and more sports teams in the country have now been inspired to transcend borders and achieve equally ground breaking results.
And, the football team has not been left behind.
The Bright Stars say they have drawn a lot of inspiration from the basketball team and hope to also achieve equally monumental qualifications in future, starting off with a possible stab at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Sports brings people together and with the basketball team, we now feel that South Sudan is being recognized internationally in terms of sports. Now, every team playing against us feels we are great because of what the basketball team has achieved,” said South Sudan’s football team captain Peter Maker.
He added; “We like the pressure that is coming and we look forward to do the same in football also. Back home people are really happy with the basketball team and they also expect us to do the same.”
The South Sudanese team played in the group phase for the qualification of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, finishing bottom of Group G with a victory and five losses.
But, Maker says soon, they will be competing better because the team has been growing and the inspiration from their basketballers has been immense.
“They have had a great impact not only on us as players but also the country. South Sudan is now recognized globally because of basketball. They have brought our names up and we should also do that in football.” Maker said.
Head coach Stefano Cusin, an experienced Italian gaffer who has worked for English Premier League side Wolves as an assistant coach believes he can deliver the dream to the people of South Sudan, a country that has battled civil war for years.
He believes the team has a lot of potential and says he is confident that soon, they will be battling to qualify for the Cup of Nations.
“In many games during the qualifiers, except the last one, we lost by fine margins. We have been improving a lot and in every camp, we are better. I am trying to build a team and you can see that we have recently qualified for the U17 and U20 Cup of Nations and I have brought in most of those players into the senior team,” noted Cusin.
And just like Deng did with transforming the basketball team by handpicking players of South Sudanese descent who moved out of the country, Cusin is also taking the same approach to add more quality to the side.
“South Sudan is a country that has been at war for many years before and we have many families who moved away to different countries. We are trying to see whether we can get as many as possible to add in quality to the team,” says Cusin.
He adds; “Unfortunately South Sudan is not like Nigeria where we have many players playing in top leagues so I can watch on TV. For me, I have to go to these countries and try to look for the players.”
The tactician says he will travel to Nairobi to have a look at more players who are in the country, with three currently within his ranks in the current squad.
He believes that in the long term, Sudan will be in the Africa Cup of Nations.
“When I signed my contract, the president didn’t ask me to qualify but he just asked me to build a team then from 2024 he will start to ask for the results. I am ready for the challenge. The team is growing and becoming very competitive and for sure in the near future South Sudan will qualify for the Cup of Nations,” he added.
South Sudan are in Nairobi where they are set to play a friendly match against Harambee Stars at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani on Tuesday evening.
