The Red Roos were disappointed when the South Sudanese Australian National Classic basketball tournament was cancelled earlier this year. Credit:Christopher Hopkins

'Unrealistic' restrictions has forced the cancellation of a major annual summer basketball tournament in Melbourne, the South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association has said.

In a post on Facebook, the association wrote that its two largest annual events - the National Classic in July and Summer Slam in December - were unable to go ahead this year following the negative portrayal of their community in the media.

"The African youth issues that were widely covered in the media for the last few years has affected the hosting of our tournaments... We have struggled to get stadiums to host the tournaments," the statement from the board read.

"When we got a stadium, unrealistic barriers were put in the way so that the event was not held. Stadium managers are afraid to host our event because of the African gang stories they see in the news. Some of our partner organisations have also had concerns towards our event because of the fear that has been created.