In this piece, I would like to delve into the state of South Sudanese football, drawing from both my personal experiences on and off the field. Hailing from a football region that has proudly contributed two players to the national team, the Bright Stars, who recently defeated Kenya’s Harambee Stars at Moi Stadium, Kasarani, I have a unique perspective.

As a soccer player myself, I’ve dedicated much of my life to the sport, playing with passion as if it were my sole purpose on this planet. However, societal circumstances and distractions deferred my journey until now.

In Nuer culture, there’s a saying, “chak ke-hon mini-muon,” which loosely translates to “I even tried death.” This saying reflects my intense pursuit of football talent, at one point even feeling like my spirit ventured into the heavens in search of it. During my earlier years, I served as the main midfielder for my team, Referendum Football Club, a team we established ahead of the Southern Sudan referendum in 2011.

I vividly recall the moment when Bona Kueth Machar proposed the name for our team, and we unanimously embraced it. During a match on Nairobi’s Soft ground, an opposing player kicked me in the chest from behind, causing me to fall and lose consciousness. Later, I learned that the referee and players decided to end the match prematurely as a gesture of solidarity.

After regaining consciousness, I experienced an overwhelming chill, shivering and shaking uncontrollably. They say, “the higher you go, the colder it becomes.” In my case, it felt as if I had ascended to heaven and returned via the clouds and wind in the sky, explaining the intense cold I felt.

Upon self-examination, I discovered a severe bruise on my forehead, indicating that I likely landed on my head during the fall. Despite this, I chose to forgive the person who struck me and left me seemingly lifeless. To this day, I haven’t sought to identify or confront the individual; my memories are limited to the place and the people I played with at that time.

On that challenging day, senior player Simon Bang’oang kindly bought me Dettol soap to clean the wound. Remarkably, I never let this traumatic incident deter my passion for football. Even in my rural home, when advised by health officers to refrain from playing until fully healed, I turned a deaf ear to such counsel. My commitment to the game remains unwavering, and the scars only serve as a testament to my resilience.

My love for football has been a constant in my life, a devotion that began even before I laid eyes on a real football with its iconic black and white colours. In those early days, we ingeniously fashioned footballs by tying and wrapping clothes, a testament to our unyielding passion for the game.

I played in all weather conditions, under the scorching sun or pouring rain, except during nighttime. During football tournaments, especially in the final stages, I would spend the night envisioning how I would play the next day, blending my talent with a deep passion for the sport.

As a player, I prided myself on not only skill but also discipline. Throughout the years, my genuine love for football has been evident—I have never faced suspension from any tournament I participated in, and red cards were a rarity. My admiration extends to players, fans, and participants alike.

I’ve consistently been a positive force, cheering on players more often than criticizing, whether they were on my team or the opposing side. I hold immense respect for my coaches and colleagues at all times. Starting as a striker, I looked up to legends like Nwankwo Kanu, Alessandro Del Piero, Patrick Boma, Titi Camara, and Denis Oliech. As the years passed, I became a fan and admirer of Clarence Seedorf, Paul Scholes, Michael Essien, and Luis Figo, to name just a few. Football, for me, is not just a game but a lifelong passion that continues to evolve with each passing year.

Physically, I possessed ample stamina, speed, and vision on the pitch, priding myself as a skilled and unselfish dribbler. My international football allegiance spanned teams like Harambee Stars, Cameroon, Nigeria, Netherlands, Argentina, and Italy. At the club level, I avidly followed and watched matches from the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and more. In 2002, after transitioning from village life to the town, I watched my first World Cup, held in Korea.

A memorable highlight came in 2010 when Nigeria’s Super Eagles faced Kenya’s Harambee Stars for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Eagerly anticipating the match, I prepared a placard with the phrase ‘Kanu the African legend.’ Despite Kenya’s loss at home, Nigeria qualified for the World Cup in South Africa. In a heartwarming gesture, Kanu chose to stay behind after the match, purposefully gifting me his T-shirt—an invaluable souvenir that I still cherish to this day.

Before delving further, allow me to express my belief in the potential of the South Sudan National Football Team, known as the Bright Stars, to clinch victories in the Africa Cup of Nations and even the World Cup consecutively.

To maximize this potential, I propose two crucial changes. Firstly, the construction of a standard football stadium is imperative. Secondly, and equally significant, is the need for a new team name that resonates with our local culture and traditions. The current name, Bright Stars, lacks meaningful significance.

I recommend adopting the name ‘Anya-Nya Warriors’ for our national football team. This choice is not arbitrary; it pays homage to the Anya-Nya, the revolutionary soldiers who initiated the first battles in our struggle for independence in 1955. By embracing the name Anya-Nya Warriors, I believe the team will embody the spirit of relentless fighting until they secure victories in the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup, slated for 2026.

Renaming our national team as Anya-Nya Warriors will serve as a constant reminder and tribute to the heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives during our country’s struggle for independence. It aligns our football team with our rich history, fostering a deep sense of connection and pride among the people of South Sudan.

Currently, there are two concurrent football tournaments underway—the Bahr El Ghazal Counties League and the Naath Counties Tournament. The latter emerged as an offshoot of the former, with the Bahr El Ghazal tournament being the first to be communicated and launched in October 2023.

The Naath Counties Tournament is hosted at Giada field inside Giada Military Barrack, while the Bahr El Ghazal Counties League is taking place in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state capital, Aweil.

Regrettably, the players in the Bahr El Ghazal tournament are exclusively from Dinka counties in the Bahr El Ghazal region, while the Naath Counties Tournament participants are solely drawn from the 16 Nuer counties spanning Jonglei, Unity State, and Upper Nile. This segregation raises concerns as football, traditionally a unifying factor, is being misused.

Football has historically served as a tool for promoting peace and reconciliation in war-torn African countries, and South Sudan should leverage this potential to bridge divides among its communities. The current tournaments, especially the Naath one, seem to attract crowds and social media commentators not for the love of football but due to clan affiliations. The majority attending are clan fans, not football fans.

In my perspective, these tournaments are inadvertently fostering clannism and tribalism, detrimental to South Sudan’s already frail state. A more constructive approach would be to initiate intra and inter-state tournaments, allowing players from different counties to interact, showcase their talents, and promote peace.

If this trend continues unchecked, there’s a risk of witnessing tournaments based on ethnic lines, such as Shiluk, Bari, Acholi, Pari, and Luo, among others. Alternatively, the Ministries of Sports and Peacebuilding should collaborate to redirect the country towards a path that fosters unity, emphasizing nationalism over tribalism.

South Sudan urgently needs policies geared toward promoting national identity and unity, and corrective action must be taken to prevent further division.

The writer, Dak Buoth Riek Gaa, is the convener of the Senior Youth of South Sudan. He can be reached via email: eligodakb@gmail.com

The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.