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South Sudan and the unifying power of sport

Sports teams bring together athletes from communities torn apart by South Sudan’s ongoing civil war.

Junior basketball players practise in the early morning on the Nimra Talata basketball stadium, in Juba, before the sun becomes too strong. There are no indoor basketball courts in the city. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Junior basketball players practise in the early morning on the Nimra Talata basketball stadium, in Juba, before the sun becomes too strong. There are no indoor basketball courts in the city. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
By 
Andreea Campeanu
3 Oct 2016
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Juba, South Sudan – On an early Saturday morning on the outdoor court next to thed Nimra Talata basketball stadium in Juba, 19-year-old Rebecca Pascual, together with 30 other girls and boys, prepares for handball practice before the South Sudanese sun becomes too strong to bare. They fetch the balls, measure and mark the sandy uneven court full of small pebbles and fix an old, worn net on the poles.

“You know, this [sport] keeps people united, from different tribes, sometimes we don’t know where someone is from”, says Ismail, the handball coach. Everyone volunteers. Neither the coach nor the players are paid.

At the Juba Youth Training Centre, fighters and weightlifters gather for training at 4pm each day. “Sport is easy to identify with. They [the fighters] coexist together when there is something to do together,” says Puro Okelo Obob, the kickboxing coach. Obob moved back to South Sudan in 2008 from Canada, where he was living and fighting professionally.

READ MORE about Puro Okelo Obob and kickboxing in South Sudan

During May, the basketball and football championships took place in the capital. Each night, at Juba stadium and the basketball stadium, crowds gathered to support their favourite teams. There were also children’s teams and disabled athletic teams competing.

But the most popular sport is football, with people playing each evening across the city on mud football pitches. “There are too many teams and too few pitches,” said one man working at Juba Stadium

Although many athletes lack the proper resources and equipment, they continue playing for the love of sport which unites their communities which are being torn apart by civil war. 

INTERACTIVE FEATURE: How far has South Sudan come since independence?

Two boys change the score during a basketball game between Black Star and Hilal teams, during the play-offs of the basketball championship in Juba at Nimra Talata basketball stadium.  [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Two boys change the score during a basketball game between Black Star and Hilal teams, during the play-offs of the basketball championship in Juba at Nimra Talata basketball stadium. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
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Basketball players from Hilal and Black Star teams during the play-offs of the basketball championship in Juba. Neither the players, nor the coaches get paid, and the entrance to games is 5 South Sudanese pounds (about 8 cents). 'People say basketball is working. We are working because we love the sport,' says Mickey Margani, the head coach. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Basketball players from Hilal and Black Star teams during the play-offs of the basketball championship in Juba. Neither the players, nor the coaches get paid, and the entrance to games is 5 South Sudanese pounds (about 8 cents). 'People say basketball is working. We are working because we love the sport,' says Mickey Margani, the head coach. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Children celebrate on the court after a basketball game between Citizen and Warriors basketball teams. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Children celebrate on the court after a basketball game between Citizen and Warriors basketball teams. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Volleyball players from Cobra club practise before travelling to Rwanda to play in the Genocide memorial tournament. The players have very basic equipment and the floor of the court is broken concrete. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Volleyball players from Cobra club practise before travelling to Rwanda to play in the Genocide memorial tournament. The players have very basic equipment and the floor of the court is broken concrete. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Boxer Jalaba Okumu training on a Nimra Talata basketball court. 'We are running up and down, day and night, but there are no other means', says Franco Nyarji Gordon, director of the boxing team. The boxers lack boots. They don't even have money to go to tournaments. 'We have the love for this sport', says Okumu, who started training as a boxer in 2011, in a Ugandan refugee camp. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Boxer Jalaba Okumu training on a Nimra Talata basketball court. 'We are running up and down, day and night, but there are no other means', says Franco Nyarji Gordon, director of the boxing team. The boxers lack boots. They don't even have money to go to tournaments. 'We have the love for this sport', says Okumu, who started training as a boxer in 2011, in a Ugandan refugee camp. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Kickboxers train at the Juba Youth Training Centre. There are 42 kickboxers, both men and women from different tribes, who train under team coach Puro Okelo Obob. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Kickboxers train at the Juba Youth Training Centre. There are 42 kickboxers, both men and women from different tribes, who train under team coach Puro Okelo Obob. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
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Puro Okelo Obob, in red, takes a training session at Juba youth centre. 'I just want them to believe in themselves and to see that they are like everyone else, despite of what is happening' he says. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Puro Okelo Obob, in red, takes a training session at Juba youth centre. 'I just want them to believe in themselves and to see that they are like everyone else, despite of what is happening' he says. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
'I want a real gym, to have a better team to take them professionally,' says Obob, the kickboxing coach.  [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
'I want a real gym, to have a better team to take them professionally,' says Obob, the kickboxing coach. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Girls from Costoms football club during evening practice at Supiri Secondary school in Juba. There are 40 girls training in the team, the field is very basic and some of the girls play with bare feet. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Girls from Costoms football club during evening practice at Supiri Secondary school in Juba. There are 40 girls training in the team, the field is very basic and some of the girls play with bare feet. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Rebecca Pascual, 19, fixes the net on the handball poles for morning practice. The handball team training at the Nimra Talata basketball court includes men and women. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Rebecca Pascual, 19, fixes the net on the handball poles for morning practice. The handball team training at the Nimra Talata basketball court includes men and women. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Handball players Bianca William, 20, left, mother of a one-year-old baby, Viola Francis, 21, and Arnesta Angelo, 20, take a break during their morning practice. They are all playing in the country's national team. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Handball players Bianca William, 20, left, mother of a one-year-old baby, Viola Francis, 21, and Arnesta Angelo, 20, take a break during their morning practice. They are all playing in the country's national team. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Boxers prepare backstage during a boxing tournament in Juba. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Boxers prepare backstage during a boxing tournament in Juba. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Boxers in the ring during a tournament in Juba. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]
Boxers in the ring during a tournament in Juba. [Andreea Campeanu/Al Jazeera]

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