A former sportsman says South Sudan has a great potential to compete regionally and internationally in different sports, but a lack of leadership and resources are major obstacles to that dream. 

Radio Tamazuj caught up with Peter Bara Yobo, a former footballer, basketballer, and executive member of different sports clubs in Juba. He believes all is not lost and calls for a strategic plan for sports in the country.

Following are edited excerpts from the conversation: 

Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your sports career?

A: My name is Peter Bara Yobo Tinia, I was born in 1963 and I began my primary school in 1969. And in those days sports were mandatory in all schools. In each school, some trainers and coaches train pupils in different games. I continued playing basketball and football but mostly my hobby was basketball. I began playing in Wau and Juba. I participated in many school tournaments between 1976 to 1977. I was then enrolled in the Al Nasir club in Juba.

I played for over five years and I decided to retire due to some injury to my eyes. I was elected the secretary of activities in the Al Hilal club in 1986. The activities included football, basketball, volleyball, handball among others. I held this administrative position for four years. After that, I was appointed to the treasurer of the club. I was very strict and influential, and that is why I held this position for more than 18 years. In 2006, they wanted to appoint me in this position again but I refused and I retired in 2010 to allow young people to take over. I continued working for them as an advisor. When disputes occur in Al Hilal and other clubs they seek my advice in Juba here.

Q: Can you share with us some best moments of your career as a basketball player?

A: My best moments were between 1978 – 1981. I was still strong and I was playing football in the second class and first class in basketball. We used to play at night at Nimira Talata. When I share with some people and tell them, my colleagues, that I played with, they don’t believe me. They see me as a young person because my body shape is still small.

There is an SPLM general called Bior Aswet, he is from Rumbek Lakes state. He finished his senior secondary school around 1975 or 76 and he came to Juba here and we played with them together in the Al Nasir club. You have Dr. Maker Isaac, a specialist at Juba Teaching Hospital. These are some of my teammates. They were older than me and tall at the same time. Because I was young and played well, they allowed me to play alongside them. I was young and small but I wasn't afraid. 

Those were the best moments of my sports activities. Even if I try to compare with the present time, now we have some professional basketball players. They might be playing better than us because they acquired training from outside and they are better. But during our time, our levels were the same to the extent that when your team is going to play against any other team, it is difficult to predict who will win the game. When the referee ends the game this is when you will know if you win the game or lost it. So this was the best time of my life. Even the management of the teams whether football, basketball, handball, volleyball, or athletes. They were people who understood their work correctly. This is a time that I can’t forget in my lifetime.

Q: How do you compare the sports now and earlier?

A: Earlier on, we used to play for free. You just decided to enroll in a particular club and you sign a contract of three to four years without demanding a coin. Secondly, when we play as a team, we see ourselves as brothers and we agree on one tactic. If we are preparing for a match the following day, we all agreed on one thing. Thirdly, we used to express love even to our opponents because sometimes you find your brother, cousin, neighbor or your schoolmate in that team. That means we are all one people. Once the game is over, we shook hands as a sign of love and we depart.

This is not the situation today. Currently, our players are playing for money. And in most cases, some of them don’t show commitment to the club during their contract. 

If I can compare our football players in the 70s and 80s, they are much better than those who have been playing since 2010 -2021. If you go now to the sports field, you will find our players are very thin. They don’t play well and they don’t have enough energy to sustain their game. The foundation of our football is not good that is why, when we go and play outside, we are always beaten. But for basketball, they have a bright future.

Q: Do you see the current sports activities as a means to unite our people?

A: As I speak, I am responsible for my words. Our current sports activities and especially football, there is a lot of mismanagement around it. For a simple reason, people who are holding administrative positions in the football association, have no idea about football itself. Some of them are business people and are imposed on the team or association.

Our beginning as a new nation was wrong. People who were put in charge of our football team were wrongly selected. They are supposed to take us from where we are to the promised land, they didn’t do so. When Sudan was united, the head of the Sudanese football association maintained his position from 1990 up to now. He is well known by the African football associations, even FIFA knows him. He was well informed, he played before and he became an administrator for several teams and clubs. This is how we should have selected our people but unfortunately, we did not. These kinds of individuals can never take our football ahead at all if they are in Juba here or in local associations in the states.

I have been saying this now and then whenever I get any opportunity in the media or radio, I keep on saying this because these people know nothing about football. I am saying this because I grew up in the field. That means the experience I have can allow me to say this. I am not against anyone but I want to tell the truth that can take our football ahead.

In regards to basketball, we don’t have any problem because those in charge of this association are well qualified. If you don’t know how to play basketball and you want to come and force yourself there, you will not be allowed. The second thing is that they are well educated and trained similar to the one of the NBA in America. When you are well educated, you will play well, behave yourself, you will accept defeat and competition as well. If you don’t behave yourself, you will not get paid. We are proud of our son Lual Deng, who is currently chairing the association and he is well known by the whole world. That is why nowadays we are hearing a lot of wins by our team. Our reputation is now gaining ground in Africa. We defeated Uganda, Mali, among others. We are now qualified for the second round which is expected in August. We are very proud of this team.

So if we put the right person in the right place, we will go ahead.

Q: According to you, how can sports activities bring peace in South Sudan?

A: Yes, sports can bring us peace. If you look at the previous years, even if they are defeated, they keep on maintaining unity and love among themselves. In the past, whenever we played and scored a goal, we all feel the joy together, we don’t look at tribes. We don’t have leaders who can guide us the right way. The only place we find this is in the church. When we go for prayers, we are taught about unity, love, and togetherness because God created us in his image and equally. This is what the church teaches us. But when we come to our communities we don’t find this. If this can be practiced in sports that would have taken us forward. We just need a leader who will lead us through this.

During the time of Joseph Lagu, he appointed Mading Deng Garang and people who have a background in sports activities in the ministry of Youth. They established a strategic plan and the budget was ready for that. Their plan began with schools. In the morning students are busy with studies but in the evening, they are in the playground. This had united us together. When we leave school, we all know ourselves as friends, classmates and we play sports together. This was our time. Until now we still maintain our relationships. Minister Mading is the founder of the basketball stadium of Nimira Talata.

You see, there was a clear plan for youth from school to neighborhood. In Melekia, and Atla Bara, the sport united us in Juba. Players and their fans were united in our time.

Q: What is your last message to all South Sudanese?

A: As a sports person, as I told you earlier that I grew up in the field playing football, basketball, and boxing. What I did not play was volleyball because I did not like it. We used to play the athletes at Midan Maulid, which is currently taken over and shops are built around it. My message to the ministry officials is that they should develop a plan for sport for all South Sudanese.

What pains me is that we have got ten state ministers of youth and sport in addition to the national minister. What are they doing? They don’t have a plan for sports for youth in the country. There is no budget allocated for this. So what can we do? That is why many youths are now loitering in the streets.

Nowadays it is difficult to find a playground in residential areas. Many of them are being occupied with buildings. Now, where can our children play? When you play and study together it helps in building up our shape. It is difficult nowadays to find playgrounds in schools and yet we need our children to play ball and defeat Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mali, and others, but how can we do that without proper practice in our playgrounds? We cannot move from home and go and play football. We need to reclaim our playgrounds.

We need proper training and this can be done through the Ministry of sports. If we select 50 teachers and send them to China or Germany through an MOU, then they can be trained and afterward we deploy them in schools to help in coaching students. Under the condition that all playgrounds should be evacuated. This will open up a new future for our country to be strong in all these sports. This is the plan that should be implemented by the ministry.

What are our plans for our youth so that we blame them for doing nothing, staying in bars till late at night, becoming niggers, and drinking alcohol daily? And we continue blaming them yet we are the reason behind all these. 

If we need our sports to go ahead in South Sudan, the Ministry should develop a strategic plan for five or ten years for our students. We don’t want to see people being appointed wrongly in sports positions. People should avoid tribalism in sports. If we appoint the right person, people complain a lot and create fake stories just to tarnish his image.