27/04/2020
All is well playing for South Sudan – Wani ivan
MONDAY APRIL 27 2020
Daily Monitor
By JACOBS ODONGO SEAMAN
Busoga United midfielder Ivan Wani has put the tough decision he had to make between waiting for his chance with Uganda and getting his international career started with South Sudan behind him.
Wani last year opted to represent his ancestral FA of South Sudan.
“I love being on the pitch,” he says, “it was a difficult decision having to pick between my two countries but I had to make that decision myself.”
The decision came days after then Cranes boss Sebastien Desabre had deemed the pacy winger surplus to requirements for the national U-23.
Then at Maroons, the left-footed utility player had been summoned to the Kobs training camp on November 20, but dropped five days later.
“South Sudan is native to my grandparents but I was born in here and love Uganda because it’s where I have lived all my life,” Wani says.
The South Sudanese FA had been courting Wani for weeks, ironically, seeking his service to help shoot down the Cranes in the Afcon U-23 qualifier. Being dropped from Kobs left him agonising over his international career fate. He consulted variously.
His namesake and Admin-Tororo coach Ivan Wani as well as his first coach in Kakira, Ratib Ofuti, advised him to probe into his soul and weigh what he wants as a footballer.
Either hang in there and wait for a childhood dream, or grab what is on offer. Cranes, Wani reckoned, is no longer in paucity of talent; he would have to wait much longer given he isn’t pushy and does not fight for something he thinks he deserves.
Wani picked South Sudan. In terms of always wanting to be on the pitch, it was the best bet. Busoga United goalkeeper Emmanuel Lubangakene joined Wani to the Bright
Stars crest.
When the coronavirus eases its fury and Caf reschedules games, Wani will face his country of birth in 2021 Afcon qualifier double-header for his first international cap.