South Sudan’s Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Alier Samuel, has called on the national government to increase resources for youth sports and create more opportunities for young people to develop their talents.
Alier made the call in Juba on Sunday during the final of the inaugural Inter-States Independence Volleyball Cup at Nimra Talata Basketball Court.
“Our young people make up more than 60 percent of the population. If we invest in them, guide them and motivate them, we are investing in the future of this country,” Alier said. “We have not done enough as a government to support our young people in sports. We need to provide the resources and create an environment where our youth can develop their talents.”
He also urged South Sudan’s ten states and three administrative areas to give greater attention to sports and expand opportunities for youth participation. He said sports can help bring communities together while keeping young people engaged in productive activities.
Meanwhile, Deputy National Minister of Information David Yau Yau said the volleyball tournament had demonstrated the talent, discipline and sportsmanship of South Sudanese youth.
“This tournament has demonstrated that our young people have talent, discipline and the ability to compete at a high level,” he said. “We need to continue supporting sports so that this talent can grow.”
Meanwhile, Bush Buse, Central Equatoria State Minister of Youth and Sports, also called for an increase in the national sports budget. He said additional funding would allow sports activities to expand beyond national and state competitions to counties, payams and bomas.
“We need to increase the budget for sports. With more resources, we can take sports activities beyond the national and state levels and reach our counties, payams and bomas,” he said.
He added that greater investment in grassroots sports would help identify and develop young talent across the country.
Jonglei defeats Lakes 3-0 to win Inter-State Independence Volleyball Cup
Jonglei State won the inaugural Inter-State Independence Volleyball Cup after defeating Lakes State three sets to nil in the men’s final at Nimra Talata Basketball Court on Sunday.
Jonglei dominated the final, winning the first set 25-15, the second 25-20, and the third 25-19 to claim the championship title.
The victory came just three days after Lakes State had beaten Jonglei 3-0 in the preliminary round on August 13.
Jonglei coach Dut Abraham Kuol said his team learned from its mistakes in the preliminary match and corrected them before the final.
He said the team had struggled with reception, blocking and implementing its service strategy during the earlier game.
“There were a few things that we did not do right in the previous game, and the boys went there and did them right. And that’s why we won.”
Kuol said the team remained confident in its ability and focused on playing its own game in the final.
Jonglei captain James Achuil, also known as James Lee, said minimizing mistakes was key to the victory.
“When you make mistakes, this is where you lose the game. We minimized our mistakes, that’s why we played, and we won. We still made mistakes.”
Meanwhile, Lakes State coach Dominic Manyang admitted that his team underestimated Jonglei after winning the preliminary match.
Manyang said teams should not relax after securing a big victory because opponents can study their mistakes and return stronger.
He said the underestimation contributed to Lakes State’s defeat in the final.
For his part, Lakes captain Chol Majok accepted the result, saying volleyball always has a winner and a loser.
Majok said his team played well, but things did not go as expected in the final.
The tournament brought together teams from different states as part of activities marking South Sudan’s Independence celebrations.
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