A three-week football tournament to promote peace concluded on Tuesday, February 21, in Jonglei State’s capital Bor. The Koryom football team won the final against the Salaam team.
After 90 minutes and a 1-1 draw, Koryom defeated Salaam in a penalty shootout with a final 4-3 score. Mayen Deng Klei, Koryom’s coach said he is not surprised that his team won: “I was confident they are going to take this trophy.”
“I am very happy,” Klei said, adding that it is “not their first time to take it”.
The Jonglei State Minister of Information, Youth, Culture and Sport, Akech Dengdit, praised the participating teams who “have sweated in a nice way” competing to win the trophy.
Dengdit also told spectators at the closing ceremony that peace is a priority in the country, and that everyone should support the national dialogue initiated by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.
The tournament was organised by the Korean United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) contingent in Jonglei State. Major Jung, a Korean UN peacekeeper, said football is one of the ways to achieve peace and reconciliation in the state.
According to UNMISS, “the power of sport to inhibit conflict and promote cohesion has become increasingly appreciated by the people of South Sudan”, a country that has been experiencing violent conflict since December 2013.
Photo: The State Minister of Information, Youth, Culture and Sport, Akech Dengdit (second from left) claps as the winning team receives a trophy in Bor, February 21, 2017. (© Radio Tamazuj)