By Kei Emmanuel Duku
Telecommunications Company, MTN, has pledged its support to national football with a $25,000 donation to the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA).
Ali Monzer, MTN’s CEO, announced the donation on Monday, ahead of the Juba Stadium inauguration. He emphasized MTN’s commitment to promoting national unity through sports.
“Football fosters national unity,” Monzer said.
“This is the beginning of our partnership. Our core objective is to nurture and develop talents. MTN’s contribution goes beyond this cheque. We want to partner and see how they can benefit technologically from the MTN TV Plus App.”
The donation was welcomed by Robert Zakaria, SSFA’s Chairperson of the Marketing and Investment Committee. Zakaria urged other companies to follow MTN’s lead.
“This is not the start of our partnership with MTN,” Zakaria said.
“They have a long history of supporting the Bright Stars and are offering similar contributions to the Basketball team. We are appealing to oil companies and the tourism sector to join MTN’s efforts.”
Significantly, Gen. Augustino Madout, SSFA President, announced MTN’s first-ever sponsorship of the South Sudan Premier League.
“The $25,000 is to facilitate the Juba Stadium inauguration,” Gen. Madout clarified. “We will continue discussions with MTN after the event.”
In a separate development, Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs Hon. Tut Gatluak pledged financial incentives for the national team, the Bright Stars.
Players will each receive $1,000, and the team will get an additional $10,000 if they win against Sudan in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.