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South Sudan secured their spot in the World Cup after defeating Senegal 83-75 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Former NBA star Loul Deng has called out the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) and the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBA).
This was after FIBA and EBA for denying South Sudan fans the chance to celebrate their country's remarkable feat of qualifying for the basketball World Cup for the first time.
South Sudan secured their spot in the World Cup after defeating Senegal 83-75 in Alexandria, Egypt.
However, many passionate South Sudanese fans were denied access to the stadium for unknown reasons, according to Loul Deng, the president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation.
“This is going out to FIBA and the Egyptian basketball federation. I hope whatever has been going on this week has been recorded with how teams are treated,” said Deng during a post-game interview.
“We should be disappointed that we have a team in South Sudan that is about to make history with an incredible story not only for FIBA but for African basketball where our fans travelled from across the world to support us only to be denied access to the stadium without prior communication.”
“FIBA and the Egypt Federation should be ashamed. Whatever is going on here needs to stop. Basketball doesn’t need this,” Deng added.
Robbed
Deng called the action robbery: “Ours is a great story and we’ve been robbed today from celebrating with our fans. As a team now and as the federation president, we need to do something for those fans to make it up, but that is one of my biggest disappointments.”
“We make history, and our fans are not allowed on the day of making it. They didn’t announce it yesterday or last week; they announced it today. FIBA needs to look at that,” he added.
Loul Deng, who became the president of the South Sudan basketball federation in November 2019, is no stranger to basketball success.
Born in South Sudan, his family sought asylum in Egypt due to the war at the time. Deng later moved to the United Kingdom, where he went to school and started a basketball career.
He went on to play in the NBA with teams like the Miami Heat, Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
South Sudan's historic qualification for the basketball World Cup was secured after their victory against Senegal.
Despite the fact that their many passionate fans were not able to be present to witness the historic feat, Deng and his team have made their country proud and brought attention to the talent and potential of African basketball.
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