By Gladys Fred Kole
South Sudan’s dancer Kaya Godfrey raised the flag of the country high as he featured at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) finals opening ceremony in Istanbul, on Saturday.
The dance star, performed in the 2023 UEFA Champions League finals as he was seen sharing the stage alongside Grammy-award multi-platinum star Nigeria’s Burna Boy.
The turkey-based actor and chorographer, Mr. Kaya, got the chance to perform in the biggest world event at the opening ceremony alongside other group dancers.
Kaya is a resident of Kajo-Keji County and a former student of Comboni Comprehensive College who got his chance to go to Turkey in the early days of South Sudan’s independence to further his studies in electrical and electronics engineering under a Turkish scholarship.
The African giant Burna Boy delivered a noteworthy performance as the opening act of the UEFA Champions League final.
Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer Burna Boy delivered a stellar performance at the opening act of the UEFA Champions League finals on Saturday, June 10, 2023. The singer and Anitta were both the opening acts for the night.
Burna Boy performed two of his greatest hits, ‘Last Last‘ and “It’s plenty,” at the event. Burna Boy became the first and only Nigerian artist to perform at the opening event of the UEFA Champions League.
The 2023 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League, the 68th season of Europe’s premier club football tournament organized by UEFA and the 31st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs’ Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
It was played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 10, 2023, between English club Manchester City and Italian club Inter Milan.
Manchester City won the match 1–0 for their first ever UEFA Champions League title, thus completing a continental treble.
As winners, they earned the right to play against the winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup and qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup in both 2023 and 2025.
The final was originally scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled hosts for subsequent finals were shifted back a year, and the Allianz Arena in Munich was assigned the 2023 final.
When the 2021 final, which had been scheduled to be played in Istanbul, also had to be relocated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 final was given to Istanbul instead. Munich was then appointed to host the 2025 final instead.