Nyajuok Koak Kuach, a 29-year-old widow, is coaching Kai-Kuiy Football Team in Akobo, Jonglei State, as part of the Akobo Community Legend Football Cup 2026. The competition brings together young people from different payams to promote sporting talent, unity, and peaceful coexistence. Nyajuok's journey into football did not begin with dreams of becoming a coach; she had never played football in her life. Her interest in sports started with playing bally ball in Lankien, Nyirol County.
Nyajuok's decision to take up coaching has encouraged other women to join football clubs and work alongside their male colleagues. She says her role has opened doors for many women to be part of coaching teams. Her growing influence is particularly meaningful in a community where women have not always been expected to take up such roles. By standing on the touchline and directing players, Nyajuok is showing other women that they can participate in sports and take up leadership responsibilities.
Nyajuok believes that football can help bring peace to communities that have experienced cycles of revenge killings. She explains that teams are formed from different payams, some of which have historically experienced tensions. Football competitions have created opportunities for young people from different payams to meet and interact, even where relations between their communities have previously been strained. This has helped change the pattern of retaliatory attacks.
Nyajuok says many young people who previously engaged in retaliatory attacks have since abandoned revenge and begun embracing one another through sports. For her, seeing young people from previously rival payams play together is one of the clearest signs that football can contribute to peace. She believes sport can bring together not only communities in Akobo but also neighbouring communities from other states.
Nyajuok thinks women have a responsibility to support efforts to end violence and encourage men to choose peaceful ways of resolving differences. She says women can use their positions in sports and community activities to encourage dialogue, understanding, and peaceful coexistence. Her message is simple: women should not be left out of efforts to build peace.
Away from the football field, Nyajuok faces her own responsibilities and challenges as a 29-year-old widow raising four daughters. She dropped out of school after completing Primary Seven following her marriage. Her husband died in 2019, leaving her to care for their daughters. Despite these challenges, Nyajuok remains committed to coaching, seeing it as a meaningful way of supporting young people and contributing to peace in Akobo.
Nyajuok is appealing to well-wishers and organisations to support local teams with football uniforms, boots, and other sports equipment. She hopes that with more support, local clubs will continue organising matches and providing young people with opportunities to participate in sports and strengthen relationships across communities. For Nyajuok, the value of football cannot be measured only by the number of goals scored or trophies won.
Key points
- Nyajuok Koak is using football to promote unity and peaceful coexistence among young people from different communities in Akobo, South Sudan.
- Her coaching role has encouraged other women to join football clubs and work alongside their male colleagues.
- Nyajuok believes women have a responsibility to support efforts to end violence and encourage men to choose peaceful ways of resolving differences.
