By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan National League for the 2024/2025 season will commence on May 9, 2025, the Competitions Committee of the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) has announced.
The SSFA competitions committee officially confirmed the kick-off date for the annual National League Championship, which features champions from the sixteen locally registered football associations across South Sudan.
This development follows a successful meeting held at Juba National Stadium this week by the competitions committee. The committee agreed that this year’s edition will be contested by the respective champions from the ten states and three administrative areas.
During the meeting, the committee also set a deadline of May 5, 2025, for clubs and fully registered Local Football Associations to confirm their participation and submit the names of their respective champions for the upcoming competition.
The committee further stipulated that both the champion and the runner-up of the South Sudan National League 2024/2025 will automatically be promoted to the South Sudan Premier League.
In a statement, the South Sudan Football Association highlighted that the return of the National League signifies a crucial step in the association’s ongoing efforts to strengthen domestic football and foster grassroots talent through competitive matches at the local association level. The association urged teams and local associations to adhere to the submission deadline and encouraged clubs to fully prepare for the upcoming competitions.
Villa Football Club from Yambio, Western Equatoria State, is the first club to confirm their participation in the 2024/25 season via their social media page.
The 2023/24 National League was won by Al-Merriekh FC Bentiu, who subsequently represented South Sudan in the CAF Champions League against Gor Mahia FC of Kenya. Despite winning the first leg 1-0 in Juba last year, they were eliminated in the preliminary stages.
This year’s National League winner and the second-place team will both earn a spot in the second edition of the 2025/26 South Sudan Premier League. Currently, the South Sudan Premier League comprises 14 teams. However, as it was the inaugural edition, the SSFA initially confirmed that there would be no relegation, with two additional teams joining to bring the total to 16 before relegation and promotion began in subsequent seasons.