Juba community football resumes, pending matches set for September 10

The Central Equatoria State Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports, Bush Buse, has lifted the suspension on community football tournaments to allow pending matches to resume in Juba.

The suspension was imposed lastw week after clashes at Munuki Playground left several people injured, while a separate intimidation incident involving a firearm was reported at Buluk Playground.

Buse said the suspension was imposed to ensure public safety and restore order.

He said the decision to lift the ban followed a multi-stakeholder security meeting held on August 21, 2026.

“The stakeholders meeting held on 21st August 2026 … recommended that the Central Equatoria State Minister of Culture, and Sports lift Ministerial Order No. 7, 2026, which temporarily suspended community sports tournaments in Juba, subject to certain conditions to allow the remaining matches to be completed,” he said.

Buse said the decision was not influenced by pressure, but was a collective choice aimed at promoting peace and unity.

“I will say that there is no pressure that led to this decision. When it was made last week, it was based on a well-informed position. People believed that Central Equatoria State is smaller than Bahr el Ghazal County’s tournament, which led to questions about how a state-level minister suspend a regional tournament,” he said.

“Some people even were referring past incidents, where other ministers who might have spoken verbally or taken similar steps and maybe something happened. I don’t know. There was consultation that I made and the leadership is in full picture about what happened. Even the people that you thought would actually remove me are in support of this because they don’t support violence. They want peace and unity in the Republic of South Sudan,” he explained.

Buse said all pending matches must be completed by September 10, 2026.

He added that the dispute between Cueibet and Twic must be resolved before the tournament can resume.

Buse also tasked the organisers of the Bahr El Ghazal Counties’ Tournament to apologise to Munuki FC and the local community and compensate them for the damages.