South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
Digitel Holdings Limited, a domestic mobile network operator in South Sudan, announced a 10-year partnership valued at $10,000 per year with the South Sudan Athletics Federation on Friday.
De Chan Awuol, the Executive Vice President of Digitel Holdings, stated that the partnership aims to promote and advance athletics across the ten states and three administrative areas of the country.
“The intention is not just to create miracles or promote athletics events solely for Juba; the goal is to promote these events for the entire country, including all ten states and three administrative areas,” Awuol told journalists during a press conference in Juba.
“Our aim is that no one should be left behind if they have the interest and ability to compete. We believe athletics is an area that resonates deeply with the people,” Awuol added.
He revealed that Digitel will provide $10,000 annually to the federation, with the budget earmarked for training athletes who may require training opportunities outside the country.
“Athletics is a sport that can easily be supported because it doesn’t require extensive infrastructure. You can run on a football pitch. We want to encourage young boys and girls out there,” he said.
Marko Akol, the Secretary General of the South Sudan Athletics Federation (SSAF), noted that South Sudan has significant potential in athletics and that this partnership will accelerate development in the sport.
“We have potential in athletics; we excel in it because it is, by nature, our game. If we implement our programmes within this 10-year period, we will see an increase in the number of athletes,” said Akol.
“Our main programme is not solely focused on marathons or long races; we also have other events, starting with track and field events like javelin, followed by various races. We need to support all of them,” he added.
