By Emmanuel Patrick Laku | Sports Hunter South Sudan
JUBA - When Mario Taban looks back at the moments that have shaped his young career, he will remember the goals.
But he will also remember everything that came before them.
The training sessions. The sacrifices. The nights when he questioned whether he should continue.
Then, in Rwanda, came the moments that made it all worthwhile.
At just 20, Taban is emerging as one of the promising young faces of South Sudanese football — a player whose journey from academy football to the senior national team has been built on development, persistence and an ability to deliver when it matters.
From Future Stars to Jamus
Taban’s journey began at Future Stars Academy, where he developed his football before joining the Jamus SC youth team in 2024.
His progression through the club’s ranks eventually earned him a place in the senior side, where he began establishing himself as a midfielder capable of contributing at both ends of the pitch.
The numbers tell the story of his development.
In the 2024/25 season, Taban recorded five goals and six assists.
He followed that with seven goals and five assists in 2025/26, underlining his growing influence in the final third.
During those two seasons, he also helped Jamus SC win the South Sudan Super Cup, South Sudan Premier League and South Sudan Cup.
And on 22 December 2025, the club made its intentions clear, extending Taban’s contract by a further four years.
Jamus were not simply protecting a promising player.
They were investing in a young footballer they believed could become an important part of their future.
Rwanda: where Taban announced himself
The CECAFA Kagame Cup provided Taban with his biggest regional stage yet, and he did not wait long to make an impression.
Jamus SC faced defending champions Singida Black Stars in their opening Group B fixture.
The match was finely balanced until Jamus broke the deadlock late on.
Then came Taban.
With the Buffaloes leading 1-0, the midfielder struck in stoppage time to score the second goal, sealing a 2-0 victory over the defending champions.
It was the kind of moment young players dream about.
For Taban, it was the culmination of years of work.
"Coach trusted me and I have to prove it right now. After scoring the first goal, I said, ‘Okay, I’m here.’ All the training, all the nights when I wanted to quit flashed in your head.”
The goal did more than complete the scoreline. It announced that Taban could handle the pressure of continental football.
A substitute who changed the game
His next defining moment came against Mogadishu City. Jamus were trailing 1-0 when Taban was introduced from the bench.
The midfielder immediately made his presence felt.
He scored the equaliser, dragging Jamus back into the contest before producing again — this time providing the assist for the winning goal as the Buffaloes completed a 2-1 comeback.
A goal and an assist after coming off the bench.
More importantly, a contribution in a match that helped Jamus secure their place in the CECAFA Kagame Cup semi-finals.
For Taban, the achievement carried a significance that went far beyond the result.
“I feel like that’s not just three points. That’s putting your name and your country’s name in the record books and kids back home in Juba will be watching that replay and saying, ‘I can do that too.’”
That sentence perhaps explains what drives him. Taban knows he is not playing only for himself.
There are young footballers back home watching, and they are seeing a player who started where they started.
A journey through the national teams
Taban’s rise has also taken him through the South Sudan national-team pathway.
He has represented the country at different youth levels before progressing to the senior South Sudan national team, the Bright Stars.
That progression has given him experience beyond domestic football and placed him among a generation of young South Sudanese players looking to establish themselves on the international stage.
His journey now includes academy football, youth international football, domestic trophies, continental competition and senior international football.
And he has reached those milestones before his 21st birthday.
The message that meant the most
For all the attention surrounding his performances in Rwanda, one of Taban’s most meaningful moments came through a simple message from home.
Young players at Future Stars Academy had been following his journey.
When a message arrived from three of the academy youngsters he considers his little brothers, Taban was deeply moved.
“Walai, I was so happy when I saw that message from my little brothers from Future Stars.”
It was a full-circle moment.
The academy player who once looked ahead to the footballers he admired is now being watched by the next generation.
For those young players, Taban represents something tangible: a pathway from the academy pitch to the biggest stages available to South Sudanese footballers.
“I love football”
Asked why he chose the game in the first place, Taban does not talk about fame or money.
His answer is much simpler.
“Because I love football, since I was a kid, and football can avoid you from a lot of bad things.”
It is a philosophy that has remained with him throughout his development.
Football gave him direction. Football gave him an opportunity, and now, football is giving him a platform to represent his club and his country.
The story is only beginning
Mario Taban has already achieved plenty for a player who is only 20.
He has won the South Sudan Super Cup, Premier League and South Sudan Cup.
He has produced 12 goals and 11 assists across two seasons with Jamus SC.
He has signed a four-year extension with the club.
He has scored decisive goals and provided an important assist in continental competition, and he has progressed to the senior Bright Stars.
Yet perhaps the most exciting part of Taban’s story is what remains unwritten.
At Jamus, he has the platform to continue developing.
With the Bright Stars, he has the opportunity to establish himself internationally.
And for the young footballers watching him from Future Stars Academy and across Juba, he has already become something more than a player.
He is proof that the journey can be made.
From the academy pitch in Juba to the continental stage in Rwanda, Mario Taban is turning belief into big moments, at 20, the journey is only beginning.
