When Rose Macuei is teased about her decision to represent South Sudan over Uganda, she doesn’t react with defensiveness. Instead, she takes a deep breath, offers a reflective laugh, and speaks with a grace that honours both nations.
“If I weren’t playing for South Sudan, I would be playing for Uganda,” she says. “I owe a lot to Uganda because it is what made me who I am today.”
For Rose, the choice wasn’t merely about basketball; it was a journey through doubt, national identity, and a bold conversation with an NBA legend that changed the trajectory of her life.
The seed of Rose’s ambition was planted in 2017. While watching the South Sudan (SSD) men’s national team compete at the AfroBasket qualifiers in Nairobi, she felt a spark that transcended the game.
“There was this pride ignited in me,” Rose recalls as she shared with the Bigfoot athletes’ website. “I knew then that I wanted to play for South Sudan.”
However, at the time, that dream seemed impossible. South Sudan lacked an active domestic basketball league. For Rose, then a student-athlete finishing her undergraduate studies at Uganda Christian University (UCU), there was no platform for women to represent the young nation.
Rather than waiting for an opportunity, Rose created one. She approached Luol Deng, the two-time NBA All-Star and President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation, with a bold question: If the men could compete without a league back home, why couldn’t the women?
Deng was ecstatic, but the path forward presented a new hurdle. The federation’s strategy focused on the diaspora—players raised in the USA, Canada, and Australia. As an athlete who had lived and trained entirely in Africa, Rose was an outlier.
The Tug-of-War
By 2021, Rose found herself at a crossroads. The FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers in Kigali were approaching, and she had two distinct paths.
The Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA) had already begun its naturalisation process. Her university teammates encouraged her to join them. In Uganda, she was a known entity, a product of their national league whose capabilities were respected and proven.
Looking at Rose’s South Sudanese Path, this was the path of the unknown. The South Sudanese technical team was hesitant, fearing that a player who had only played in Africa would struggle to match the pace and skill of diaspora-based athletes.
When the initial call-ups were made, Rose’s name was missing. She was devastated but remained resolute.
Fate intervened in the form of heartbreak for another player. Just days before the tournament, a player in the South Sudan camp tore her Achilles tendon. The roster was down to 11.
The voice on the phone was urgent: “We have printed out a jersey for you, and we would like you to come join us.”
Rose rushed to Entebbe International Airport, her heart set on Rwanda. But the journey took one final, cruel turn: she tested positive for COVID-19. Grounded for a week while she recovered, she watched from afar as the team she fought to build took the court without her.
Today, the 26-year-old Rose Macuei stands as the only African-born and based athlete on a roster dominated by the diaspora. The doubts regarding her skill level have been silenced by her performance on the hardwood. Rose has evolved into a vital impact player for the Bright Stars.
Her contributions were pivotal during the FIBA AfroBasket games in Egypt, where South Sudan stunned the continent by defeating top-seeded teams, including Senegal and her former home, Uganda. That historic run secured a third-place finish and a ticket to international competition in China.
The bond she shares with her teammates now transcends geography. When Rose struggled with visa documentation for their recent trip to China, the diaspora girls reached out in a wave of sisterhood and concern.
Rose Macuei’s story is one of dual loyalty and singular courage. While Uganda gave her the tools to play the game, South Sudan gave her the purpose to transcend it.
By choosing the harder path, she didn’t just join a team; she proved that the heart of South Sudanese basketball beats just as strongly in East Africa as it does anywhere else in the world.
