The new state of Southern Sudan has been struggling against time to enter the list of countries that will participate in the 2012 London Olympics. The former British colony of Sudan, over the past 50 years has been plagued by famine, coup, terrorism and conflict between the northern (Muslim) and southern (Christian) in the country. After a peace agreement signed in 2005, following a civil war, the southern state gained independence through a referendum that enshrined the separation from the rest of the country. In order to have a National Olympic Committee, needed to participate in the Olympics, serve at least four national federations. Therefore, it is likely that the debut of Southern Sudan in the world of sport will occur with the Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow in 2014.