Britain's Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng backs refugee campaign

from UNHCR

LONDON, United Kingdom, August 20 (UNHCR) – Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng is back in Britain to try and help his adopted country win a place in the 2012 London Olympics. But the Sudan-born basketball prodigy has also been taking time out to support the UN refugee agency's campaign to open up sports and education opportunities for millions of young refugees around the world.

Deng last week made his home debut for Britain in a friendly with Ireland and on Tuesday the lanky former refugee will try and help his country beat Slovakia in a European Championship qualifier. The team need to win promotion to the championship's top league if they are to be granted a place in the Olympics.

Although 22-year-old Deng has been living in the United States for a number of years, he was clearly happy to be back in the British capital. "London will always be my home. It's the city I grew up in and where my family lives today," he said during a visit to South Norwood in London's Croydon district, where the family settled after fleeing southern Sudan.

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