Teng Yel Deng’s aspirations to become the next president of the South Sudan Football Federation (SSFF) have suffered yet another major setback after the federation’s Appeals Committee upheld his disqualification for the second time.
The decision, handed down late Friday, comes amid growing tension and controversy surrounding the SSFF’s electoral process.
Teng’s campaign has faced mounting obstacles from the start, including attacker against him SSFF spokesperson Albino Kuek on social media, days before the official ruling by the Electoral Committee.
While the SSFF later distanced itself from Kuek’s remarks, Teng insists that the federation’s leadership is compromised and accused it of operating under political pressure and internal manipulation.
Speaking after the first ruling, Teng questioned the credibility of the process, citing what he described as “clear signs of interference and bias.”
He expressed concern over the leak of confidential documents submitted to the federation’s Secretary General, which he says were used to justify his disqualification.
“I still don’t understand how my documents ended up in the hands of the federation’s spokesperson before any official decision was made. Although the federation denied it, the question is: is he a spokesperson of the federation? If yes, then this speaks volumes about the integrity of the entire process,” he said.
With his disqualification now confirmed again, questions continue to swirl around the transparency and fairness of the SSFF elections, as well as the internal power struggles casting a long shadow over South Sudan’s football leadership.
