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North Melbourne have moved quickly to quell speculation behind the suspension of exciting rookie Majak Daw.
Daw was suspended indefinitely by North on Wednesday for breaching team rehabilitation protocols and behaving in a manner unbefitting of the club's culture and expectations, but further information revealed the 20-year-old lied to coach Brad Scott.
'Let me be clear, Majak was suspended for two reasons only in that he breached rehab protocol by going out when he should have been resting his knee and because he lied to me about going out,' Scott said in a statement released by North on Wednesday night.
'Any other player would have been treated the same and until he complies with our standards and expectations, he won't be welcome back into the group.'
'I've been in constant dialogue with Majak and he is extremely remorseful. I know at heart, he is a terrific young guy and that's why we will support him. We are not interested in hanging him out to dry. With a player of his profile, we can't suspend him from the football club without people knowing, so we made the decision to release that information in the interests of being up front.'
'Unfortunately, there is an element out there that want to bring Majak down and have seen fit to spread rumours about him.'
It was also revealed that Daw owes a team-mate at the club money and is dating an ex-girlfriend of a former player, but Scott said these matters were not relevant to the suspension.
'The other issues that have been raised, have absolutely nothing to do with his suspension and I have known about them for some time. He owes a player money, he is working to repay that player. It's less than a thousand dollars and is a trivial matter. Majak's conduct is completely above board and he has done nothing wrong in seeing the ex-girlfriend of a former player,' Scott said.
'There are some media organisations which want to hang him out to dry. He's had to deal with some things which are unfair. He's been racially abused at a VFL game. He's had to deal with things that men of his age shouldn't have to deal with and we also have to take into account his unique background having come to Australia from Sudan.'
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) -South Sudan will be proposed as a member of the Confederation of African Football on Friday as it begins the process to become world football's newest nation.
CAF says the state's newly formed football federation will be considered for membership at its General Assembly in Libreville, Gabon.
South Sudan gained independence in July last year, and the South Sudan Football Association is seeking similar recognition from CAF and, eventually, world body FIFA.
South Sudan's national team played games against club teams from Kenya and Uganda last year to celebrate the country's independence but is yet to play a full international.
It needs to become a member of CAF and FIFA before it can try to qualify for the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup.
Uganda Cranes will face South Sudan on February 16 after the world’s newest nation confirmed the international friendly.
Bobby Williamson’s side play Congo Brazzaville in the first round of the 2013 Nations Cup qualifiers on Fifa dates February 28-29.
The friendly against South Sudan will help Bobby have a closer look at local-based players to which point he has summoned 23 of them.
The summoned players start training on Monday in preparation for this game.
“More players could be added or some could be removed,” said Bobby.
Summoned players
Goalkeepers: Hamza Muwonge, Ali Kimera
Defenders: Saka Mpiima, Godfrey Walusimbi, Henry Kalungi, Ivan Bukenya, Israel Emuge, Denis Guma, Ismael Kazibwe,
Midfielders: Noah Ssemakula, Isaac Kirabira, Willy Kavuma, Moses Okello, Patrick Senfuka, Kizito Luwagga, Julius Ogwanga, Steven Bengo, Brian Majwega, Owen Kasule.
Strikers: George Abege, Jimmy Kakembo, Caesar Okuthi, Gerald Bagoole
By MONTY MOSHER Sports Reporter, The Chronicle Herald.ca
Coveted player finally able to suit up for X
LIFE HASN’T ALWAYS turned out the way Bol Kong planned. This basketball season has been no different.
The St. Francis Xavier guard/forward will finally get to play for the X-Men at the Rod Shoveller Tournament at Dalhousie starting next Thursday.
The much-travelled former Gonzaga University player had to sit and watch the entire first semester after breaking his foot in May. Surgery in June kept him off the floor in any meaningful way until the last month.
The X-Men haven’t suffered too badly in his absence. Ranked second in the CIS, Steve Konchalski’s team is 5-0 in the conference and 13-0 overall.
Kong, turning 24 on Jan. 4, never expected to be idle for this long.
"No, definitely not," he said in an interview from Antigonish this week. "It sucked. I always wanted to play, but I couldn’t really do much."
If the X-Men have the real Bol Kong — healthy and energized — they may have one of the top varsity players in the country.
He’s six-foot-seven with a wingspan even wider, allowing him to rebound and block shots. He can score inside and out.
"I’m a versatile player," he said in a self-assessment. "I can score from anywhere and guard (positions) one through five."
He said he likes what he’s sees in the CIS so far.
"It’s really good," said the native of Sudan who came to Canada at the age of six and eventually settled in Vancouver. "The guys are competitive. The team is good. I’m excited."
Konchalski is anxious to see a player he has coveted for years finally take flight.
"Of course, since he has not played since last spring, it will take some time to get him playing at high gear, but he will surely help us right away," said Konchalski, a 37-year veteran likely to pass 800 career wins in the next few weeks.
"With the team having played very well so far, it will be a challenge to blend his talents into the line-up while still maintaining the chemistry, but he is an unselfish player who is always looking for his teammates so I don’t see that as a major problem, although it will be an adjustment. At six-foot-seven (and) being able to play inside or out, he will be a tough match-up."
With NBA potential, Kong’s name has been on the lips of Canadian coaches since his high school days. But Kong, whose legend spread via extensive coverage on the Internet, set his sights on the U.S., where literally hundreds of schools courted him.
He settled on Gonzaga. However, Gonzaga had to wait.
He battled U.S. authorities for the right to play at the university in Spokane, Wash., for several years, repeatedly failing to obtain a student visa.
Kong believes that his status as a Sudanese refugee — he grew up near Khartoum during the country’s civil war — caught the attention of American authorities. Sudan is listed by the U.S. Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism.
He finally got his chance to attend Gonzaga in 2008-09, but there was no fairy-tale ending.
He played in 31 games for the Bulldogs, averaging 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12 minutes per game. He scored in double digits six times.
His NCAA career lasted for the duration of the season. He’s always kept his reasons for leaving to himself.
"It was good and I learned a lot," said Kong, who quit during summer school. "But it just didn’t work out the way I planned it to."
It left a rip in his basketball ambitions. He was unable to transfer to a Canadian Interuniversity Sport school and play immediately under eligibility rules, meaning he was faced with a year in the bleachers.
But a new opportunity opened with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, where he could play immediately.
Play he did.
He was named an all-Canadian, leading the Ooks to the conference title and a fifth-place finish in the nation. He averaged 17.5 points per game for the Edmonton school.
But it was a long way from the bright lights and the wild expectations of the NCAA, where at least he had a whiff of potential pro riches.
"It was pretty good, but it was humbling," he said of playing at NAIT. "You’ve got to go from one of the top leagues to one of the lower leagues. But, in all, I would say it was another good experience."
He also spent a season at Douglas College in New Westminster, B.C., winning national gold, prior to going to the U.S., meaning this is his fourth year of eligibility. He plans to play next year at St. F.X. and graduate as well.
He had his eye on St. F.X. for a long time, even from high school. His high school coach was former X-Men guard Brian Lee.
None of his ambitions in the game have changed despite his twists and turns in recent years. He’s taken a few steps down, but certainly not out.
"That’s pretty much my main goal and why I play this game," he said of his NBA dream. "I want to play at the highest level I possibly can."
( mmosher@herald.ca)
By Laurel Morales, Fronteras
Lopez Lomong’s life is like a movie, and you can almost hear the trailer: He started out running for his life, now he runs because he’s fast. From Lost Boy of Sudan to U.S. Olympic Athlete.
Hollywood producers are planning to make a movie based on his life. This week he added another scene to the screenplay - college graduation.
Lomong came to the United States with two dreams: to compete in the Olympics, and to graduate from college. He can now say he’s achieved both.
"After looking at it, I complete the puzzle," Lomong said. "I was a flag bearer in the Olympics in sporting events. Now I’m a standard bearer in academic as well. That is something I wanted to balance in my life."
At age six, caught up in the violence of the Sudanese civil war, Lomong was kidnapped by the rebel militia but escaped with two older boys. They ran until they collapsed, winding up in a refugee camp in Kenya. Lomong lived there for 10 years, separated from his family, who he assumed had been killed.
In 2001, Catholic Charities brought him and thousands of other “lost boys,” as they were called, to the United States. Barbara and Rob Rodgers gave him a home in Tully, New York. They said those first days were overwhelming for Lopez.
"He was just nodding his head and smiling," Rodgers said. "He figured he was there by mistake. There was no way he belonged there. And that we didn’t know. He was trying to be really good because he thought he’d get in a lot of trouble when they’d find out he was there."
Lopez smiles broadly when he thinks back to that time. During his first cross country race at Tully High School he kept passing the golf cart that led the race.
Lomong polished his running skills at Northern Arizona University and became known among his peers for his kick. He keeps pace with the leaders of a race, then in the last seconds, he shifts into a higher gear, and often he wins.
In 2007, he won the 1500 meter race at the NCAA Championships.
Later that same year he became a U.S. citizen and qualified for the 2008 Olympics. At the opening ceremony in Beijing, Lomong carried the US flag, sporting a white cap, blue blazer and huge smile. Lomong spoke at a press conference that day:
"I’m so happy and I’m so proud to be an American, and I’m looking forward represent my country raise my flag just proudly," Lomong said. "I’m just so happy, very happy."
He’s received a lot of media attention. HBO even reunited him with his Sudanese family, who survived the civil war. He brought two brothers back to the U.S. and they’re now in college here.
Lomong graduated Friday with a degree in hotel management. He plans to bring tourism back to Sudan some day.
Right now he’s also training to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.
"Now I have one goal in my mind to be on that podium and represent our country," Lomong said.
This time he hopes to bring home a medal - and when Lopez Lomong sets his mind on something, there’s no stopping him.
John Krolik
From CSNChicago.com’s Aggrey Sam:
Born in South Sudan and growing up in London, Luol Deng exploring the option of playing abroad during the ongoing NBA lockout doesn’t come as a surprise. A posting on the website of his agency, Interperformances, Tuesday, stated the Bulls small forward was “considering to play overseas.” Deng reportedly told British-based website mvp247.com, “I always wanted to play in Europe. “I always wanted to see what my game would be like. There’s a part of me, because of growing up in England, I’d like to be close to there.”
Born in South Sudan and growing up in London, Luol Deng exploring the option of playing abroad during the ongoing NBA lockout doesn’t come as a surprise. A posting on the website of his agency, Interperformances, Tuesday, stated the Bulls small forward was “considering to play overseas.”
Deng reportedly told British-based website mvp247.com, “I always wanted to play in Europe.
“I always wanted to see what my game would be like. There’s a part of me, because of growing up in England, I’d like to be close to there.”
If Deng, who played for Great Britan’s team during this summer’s FIBA EuroBasket Tournament, were to go overseas, it would be a fairly big deal. Deng isn’t on Deron Williams‘ level as an individual player, but he’s a key piece of the team that finished with the NBA’s best regular-season record last season — if Deng’s contract with a team in Europe makes it difficult in any way for him to return to the Bulls immediately after the lockout is resolved, Deng’s overseas sojurn could actually change the landscape of the Eastern Conference until he gets back with the team and re-acclimated to his teammates.
By David Gold
September 7 - Zanzibar and South Sudan have applied to join FIFA, with the Council of East and Central Africa's Football Association (CECAFA) helping to fast track their applications. FIFA has previously rejected an application from Zanzibar on the basis that it lacks sovereignty. Zanzibar is a semi autonomous part of Tanzania, and has its own Government, with these being cited by FIFA as the reasons for its initial rejection. Mzee Zam Ali, the Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA) secretary general, has asked the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports to continue fighting to gain membership in FIFA. "It's true we have received official communication from FIFA secretary general notifying us of the collapse of our membership bid," Ali said. "But this is not the end of the road as the Ministry should strengthen cooperation with ZFA in search of the membership card from FIFA." South Sudan on the other hand should have a smoother path to recognition, but they face a two-year wait to participate in international competitions. Nevertheless, Nicholas Musonye (pictured), secretary general of CECAFA, is keen to welcome the Sudanese into his organisation and wants the country to be allowed to compete in FIFA competitions earlier than this. "The rules are very clear; it takes two years for a new member to be accepted but we can always push for special dispensation," Musonye said. "We are excited at the prospect of having a new member in our stable." Hassan Abu Jamal, executive secretary general of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), sees soccer as a unifying factor and a vehicle to lift the people's morale. "The game will help build national identity in South Sudan, strengthen national unity and overcome ethnic tensions," he said. "We know we will get that help; and if it means waiting two years before we can play in international competitions, we are ready." South Sudan became a new country and a member of the United Nations in July this year after voting to split from Sudan following a bloody civil war that resulted in the deaths of roughly two million people. Contact the writer of this story at david.gold@insideworldfootball.biz This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.insideworldfootball.biz/worldfootball/africa/9601--zanzibar-and-south-sudan-seeking-fast-track-to-international-recognition
By Majur Deng Nhial
By Majur Deng Nhial (Borglobe.com)
By Kickoff
Ghana will play Sudan, Zambia and the winner of the Burundi, Lesotho tie in Group D of Africa's qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup. The Black Stars were in the top pot for the draw in Rio de Janeiro and while there will be no major disappointment with the draw, there is also bound to be a sense of caution with the opponents Ghana has drawn. Zambia have traditionally been one of Africa's strongest sides while Sudan are familiar with Ghana having played the Black Stars in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Nations Cup. Ghana beat Lesotho home and away in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup but suffered a damaging 0-1 loss to Burundi in 1993 that was chiefly responsible for the side's failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. The winner of the group will qualify for the final round of qualifying where they will be drawn against the winners of the nine other groups on a two leg basis to determine Africa's qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. Burundi and Lesotho will play off this year before Ghana joins the qualifiers in June next year.
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