Victor Lawrence Lual, the newly appointed secretary-general of the  South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) has formally taken over the office in a handing over press conference which was held in Juba on Tuesday morning.

Mr Lual took over from John Lauro, who was relieved from his role alongside his deputy  Ajongo Domasio on April 9. Joseph Apie and Viola Wili were appointed to deputise Lual.

‘‘The SSFA has appointed Victor Lual as the Secretary General replacing John Anthony Lauro who has served in the position for close to 8 years. We would like to thank Anthony for the 8 years and congratulate Victor and wish him well for the tasks ahead,’’ the association said in a tweet.

‘‘The SSFA board has relieved Mr. Anthony John Lauro, the General Secretary and his Deputy Ajongo Domasio. Victor Lual Lual is appointed the new Secretary-General, deputized by Joseph Apie and Viola Wili.’’

While the trigger for the shakeup remains mysterious, the football in the country has had both ups and downs underlining the need for change in approach.

For example, the Bright Stars have registered below par performances in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, necessitating serious thinking for the future. The South Sudan national team travelled to Kenya in early March and registered a 1-0 loss against Kenya in the friendly, and subsequently lost to a Kenyan premier league side Wazito FC before playing Malawi on March 24, which they lost 1-0.

The Bright Stars closed the campaign bottom of the group with hopes of qualification for the forthcoming tournament in Cairo, Egypt, having dashed.

But beside the challenges are good foundations that Mr Lual may seek to build to steer the association. Part of this is the establishment of the South Sudan Women National League, which has eight teams. The league features Torit FC, Bentiu United, Kuajok FC, Wau FC, Aweil FC, Yambio FC and Yei Join Stars and Juba Superstars that currently rocks the league.

This can be also credited to his predecessor Mr Lauro, under whose leadership the establishment of the women league and the women national team came into existence.

Experiences

The SSFA will be banking on a man that is familiar with the operations of the association and has been rubbing shoulders with top brass leadership in the continental soccer bodies.

He has been one of the match coordinators of the South Sudan Football Association and he played a crucial role in helping South Sudan to play Uganda in the AFCON qualifiers at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi last year, when Juba National Stadium was being renovated.

“Al Hilal Stadium is undergoing rehabilitation until March 28. We are informed that it will then host Sudan’s game against Ghana. We have therefore chosen Nyayo Stadium for our game against Uganda,” he was quoted by Xhinua last year.

 In January 2020, Mr Lual was picked to be the match coordinator of Confederation of African Football (CAF) Chamspions League game between Etoile Du Sahel of Tunisia and Platinum football club of Zimbabwe.

Before that assignment, he had coordinated a match between Pyramid and Al Masry-two Egyptian outfits.

For Lual, 2019 was equally a busy year for him working behind the scenes to ensure success in the pitch. Here, he coordinated games after he was appointed to oversee the CECAFA Women’s Senior Challenge Cup 2019.

In the same year, he was among the eight assistant coordinators CAF listed for the U-17 Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Dar-es-Salaam. Besides this, he was a general coordinator for a match between Asante Kotoko Sporting Club and Nkana Football Club of Zambia.