By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan Basketball Federation has submitted required lists of participants for July to August Paris 2024 Olympics in France.
Chef De’ Delegation (CDM) of South Sudan to Olympic Games, Eunice Philiph Jada announce to the press that she has already forwarded a full document to the organizers in Paris.
The declaration followed a meeting comprising officials from Ministry of Youths and Sports, South Sudan National Olympics Committee, and Basketball Federation, held on Wednesday.
A joint press conference was also conducted to clear an earlier doubt about participation of South Sudan National Basketball Team at the Paris Olympics.
Eunice earlier told the media that the basketball team had missed several deadlines to submit the list of participants and their travel documents on time to the organizers.
“Despite all the delays, I stated last week that the basketball team still has an 80% chance of participating in Paris, and yesterday I received all the missing documents, which I have already sent to Paris,” she stated. “So now there is no course of alarm; they are traveling.”
The South Sudan National Basketball Team managed to overcome Angola by 101-78 points in Manila in the 2023 FIBA World Cup to earn a slot in the Paris 2024 games, achieving the highest record ever in the history of basketball.
During the match, Carlik Jones proved a threat to the Angolan team, finishing the game with 26 points, 15 assists, 7 rebounds, and a game efficiency score of 40.
Dr. Ramadan Chan Aru, Secretary General of the South Sudan Basketball Federation, noted that it has cost the federation a lot of time to participate in Zone Five games, Afro-basketball, and World Cup qualifiers eventually to the Paris Olympics, saying it will be a waste of time if the national team does not take part in the 2024 Olympic Games.
“We had some challenges before, but we are working very hard to meet the new deadline. There is nothing to fear or panic about because if the basketball team will not participate. It will be a disgrace to us to intentionally not take part in these games, yet we have laboured a lot from the start of this journey, so rest assured, we are going to make it,” Chan stressed.
As per the rules and regulations governing the organization of the Olympic Games, the cardinal role of the Chef de’ Mission is to lead their provincial or territory chapter to the Games, keep the teams organized, and support the athletes, coaches, and managers with logistics, communication, and travel.
But Eng. Juma Stephen, the President of the South Sudan National Olympic Committee, noted that there has been miscommunication between the Chef De’ Mission and the Basketball Federation, which has caused public outcry regarding the participation of the basketball national team.
The misunderstanding started when the Basketball Federation failed to submit the lists and documents of guests expected to participate in the Paris games on two different deadlines, prompting the Chief De’ Mission to issue a press statement, which caused panic among many other stakeholders in the country.
“Jada is the face of South Sudan when it comes to these games, and before she had difficulties accessing the players’ passports, which provoked her to go to the media, but now the missing passports and other documents have been submitted to her, and she is already in coordination with SSBF to make sure the required data is entered into the system in the few remaining days to come,” Stephen explained.
He further added that the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Olympic Committee, and the Basketball Federation are working together to make sure the deadline is met.
Edward Setimo, the Director General of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, said they have strengthened the office of the Chef de Mission to ease coordination; however, he warned the sports associations across the country that are affiliated with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to desist from issuing a public statement without approval from the Ministry.
“People thought the Chef of the Mission (Jada) was the one sabotaging the whole process, yet there was misunderstanding among themselves. The good news is she has now submitted the names and the required documents to the Paris Olympic organizers,” added Setimo.