There are no indoor basketball courts in South Sudan. Not one. But on Sunday, the young nation will make its Olympic basketball debut against Puerto Rico in Lille. It is a remarkable story of resilience, unity and hope – with a strong Australian flavour.
South Sudan, in central Africa, declared independence from Sudan in 2011 following a protracted, bloody civil war. The world’s youngest country remains wracked by internal turmoil. But when retired British-South Sudanese basketball star Luol Deng received a phone call from his brother in 2019, it came with an intriguing offer. The government of South Sudan wanted someone to run its nascent basketball program; would Deng help?
