Corruption scandal hits football-mad South Sudan

By Parach Mach

JUBA, South Sudan

The head of war-torn South Sudan’s football association has been removed amid a probe in the alleged misuse of $400,000, according to a statement released on Friday.

Chabur Goc received a letter from the body’s Board of Directors on Thursday advising him he had been suspended while the body discussed the accusations.

He denies any wrongdoing.

The financial irregularities came to light after an audit by KPMG based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Goc was also accused of forging documents to cover the theft and of buying himself a car using the money.

Details of the allegations which led to his removal claim Goc allegedly transferred more than 40 million South Sudanese pounds ($400,000) to private accounts in 2015 and further borrowed $12,000 on behalf of a board member.

The annual average income in South Sudan is just $790 a year, according to the World Bank.

'Plot'

Goc says he has been falsely accused and described the allegations as a “plot” to assassinate his good reputation.

“The Board of Directors has recommended an investigation into the alleged financial fraud labeled against me. However, I remain committed to any probe; I have all the transaction documents,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Building the national team from scratch is not easy task, Chabur complained.

The association said FIFA suspended the yearly financial assistance it provides to the South Sudan Football Association because of bad management, but Goc insisted the world football governing body halted the aid due to the country’s civil war.

South Sudan joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA in 2012 after gaining independence from Sudan a year earlier.

The national side -- nicknamed the Bright Stars -- played their first-ever international match, against Uganda, in July that year. The game ended in a two-all draw and was followed by FIFA welcoming South Sudan into its fold.

After recognition by FIFA, the new nation amazed the football world when they beat 2013 AFCON hosts Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in their Group C game to record their first ever competitive win.

However, off the pitch, fighting between government forces and rebels in South Sudan broke out in late December 2013, plunging the country into chaos and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

But amid the violence, football plays a central role in uniting South Sudanese and offers a glimpse of hope to the country.