Perceptions of sport and women among athletes at a South Sudan national sport event

This paper uses quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the difficulties and challenges inherent in women’s participation and continuation in sport through the experiences of athletes who participated in a national sporting event in South Sudan. Contrary to expectations, it was found that the overwhelming majority of the athletes indicated that they were in favour of women’s participation in sport. Furthermore, the data collected revealed that perceptions of sport and women varied between genders and by sport type. However, it is unclear whether its society is accepting of women’s participation in sport. Therefore, through the testimonies of athletes, coaches, and the event stakeholders, we examined the challenges women face in sport and how society perceives sport and women. As a result, this paper identified the underlying socio-cultural and economic challenges that make it difficult for women to continue playing sport in the South Sudanese context.