{"id":45244,"date":"2026-06-10T14:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=45244"},"modified":"2026-06-10T14:32:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:32:54","slug":"deputy-governor-eyes-wes-athletes-to-become-international-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/deputy-governor-eyes-wes-athletes-to-become-international-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Deputy governor eyes WES athletes to become international stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Deputy Governor of Western Equatoria State, Justin Joseph Marona, has reaffirmed the state government\u2019s commitment to supporting athletics as preparations intensify for Western Equatoria State (WES) to host the 2026 Republican Championship.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the media after the meeting with the president of WES Athletics, Marona praised the leadership of the WES Athletics Association, led by its president, Alison Wande, for working closely with the National Athletics Association to position the state as a host for the national competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful for the resilience and commitment of the leadership of WES Athletics Association for delivering and ensuring WES is part of athletic activities in South Sudan,\u201d Marona said.<\/p>\n

The deputy governor noted that the lack of suitable sports facilities had previously prevented the state from hosting major national events but said that the challenge has now been addressed.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that insecurity and competing development priorities had slowed sports development in the state over the years but pledged greater government support to elevate athletics and enhance Western Equatoria\u2019s visibility at the national level.<\/p>\n

Marona also commended athletes Oscar and Kinako for representing the state in national and international competitions. He particularly praised Oscar for representing South Sudan in Qatar and winning medals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf three or four athletes from WES can become international stars, then we will be the most recognised state in South Sudan,\u201d Morona stressed.<\/p>\n

According to the deputy governor, the WES Athletics Association currently has 136 active athletes and more than 200 school children participating in athletics clubs across schools in the state.<\/p>\n

He pledged to brief Governor Daniel Badagbu Rimbasa on the progress made in securing additional support for athletics development.<\/p>\n

Marona further applauded leaders of various sports associations in the state for their voluntary service to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey deserve support from the state government, development partners, and the community because of the work they are doing for our young people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For his part, WES Athletics Association President Alison Wande expressed appreciation for the support the state government has provided to youth and sports activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur visit was to thank the Deputy Governor for his continued support and to brief him on our engagement with the National Athletics Association regarding preparations for Western Equatoria State to host the 2026 Republican Championship,\u201d Wande said.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that Western Equatoria is prepared to host the championship, noting that the state\u2019s sports facility now meets the required standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWES is ready to host the Republican Championship because the facility is now eligible. The National Athletic Association will send a team to Yambio to assess the stadium and do markings for final confirmation,\u201d Wande confirmed.<\/p>\n

The meeting concluded with both leaders agreeing to strengthen cooperation and mobilise additional support to advance the development of athletics in Western Equatoria State ahead of the 2026 Republican Championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco The Deputy Governor of Western Equatoria State, Justin Joseph Marona, has reaffirmed the state government\u2019s commitment to supporting athletics as preparations intensify for Western Equatoria State (WES) to host the 2026 Republican Championship. Speaking to the media after the meeting with the president of WES Athletics, Marona[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,80,79,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-national","category-news","category-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/The-Deputy-Governor-of-Western-Equatoria-State-Justin-Joseph-Marona-and-sport-official.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45244"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45247,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45244\/revisions\/45247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}