The South Sudan Basketball Federation (SSBF) has cautioned the public against falling prey to scam websites allegedly offering visa services to France for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games which will run from 26 July to 11 August.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Arou Ramadan Chan, the SSBF Secretary General, warned that there are unscrupulous people online who intend to scam money from fans for visa services to France.
“A few weeks ago, after several meetings with the French Embassy, we agreed to put a link on our page of the South Sudan Basketball Federation. When you click on it, you will be able to get all the details for you to pay for the visa,” he enlightened. “It is very clear that the visa can be issued when you go to Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, for you to do biometrics because we do not have the machine here. In the recent past, few weeks or days, we have been having different people coming to us saying some people are soliciting saying they can get them visas.”
Dr. Arou said the nearest location visas to France can be issued is the Embassy of France in Ethiopia after the traveler meets all requirements.
“From our side, we have not asked anybody to do that job for us and we are not aware of anybody issuing visas in South Sudan. So, if it is somebody that you know and trust, you go ahead but it will not be the responsibility of the Federation,” he warned. “As a Federation, we ask you to go through the self-explanatory link. You will make an appointment for you to go and do the biometrics. I am saying this because there are scammers out there who would want to use this opportunity to scam our people and that is not acceptable and is a criminal offense.”
For his part, Francis Ezekiel Idris, the Deputy Executive Director of the South Sudan National Olympics Committee, the only bodies that can help people willing to travel to France for the Olympics are the Ministry of Youth and Sports, South Sudan Basketball Federation (SSBF) and South Sudan National Olympics Committee (NOC).
“Let us be very careful. Whoever comes to you and says they can help you get a visa is lying to you. People are looking for any opportunity to make quick money and some have taken this Olympic Games as an opportunity to make quick money from our people,” he warned. “There is nobody who can help you get a visa except the three bodies sitting here today. If it is not the sports ministry, it is SSBF or the NOC. Outside these bodies, do not try and do not risk because it is not worth it.”
The national basketball team, the Bright Stars, qualified for the Paris Olympic Games after defeating Angola in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, achieving the biggest win in the country’s basketball history.