South Sudan Basketball Coaches to Visit U.S.

Photo courtesy of dumais.us

Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
Washington, DC

November 7, 2012

The U.S. Department of State announced that five youth basketball coaches from South Sudan will travel to Washington D.C. from November 8 – 20, as part of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Sports Visitors program.
This exchange builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools – in this case sports– to foster greater understanding.

Throughout the twelve-day program, the youth basketball coaches will be participate in teambuilding activities, as well as working alongside their American counterparts and youth at local schools. This is the first ever Sports Visitor program with South Sudan.

SportsUnited is the U.S. Department of State’s sports exchange program within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Division. Since 2003, SportsUnited has brought more than 1,000 young athletes from more than 60 countries to the United States to participate in Sports Visitor programs. Sports Visitors are youth and coaches who travel to the United States for an exchange. Sports Visitor programs give young people an opportunity to discover how success in athletics can be translated into the development of life skills and achievement in the classroom.