By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) has released 2023-24 National League fixtures.
According to the fixture unveiled on Saturday afternoon, at Rock City, the tournament kicks off on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in the two hosting cities.
At least 12 teams will participate in the 11th edition of South Sudan National League, divided into three groups.
Group A games will be hosted in Wau while group B and C matches will be hosted in Juba, Buluk Training Centre.
According to the rules issued by the SSFA Chairperson for Competitions, Wiyoul Lampouch, each team will play three matches, and the team that wins more points from each group will progress to the next round of the competitions.
He further stated that all matches in the first round of the competitions will be played once, not on a home and away basis; however, the second phase, where the winner from each group will constitute the second round of the competition, will be played in a home and away format.
In the second round of the competition, each team will play four matches, and the team that emerges with the highest points will eventually be crowned champions of the 11th edition of the South Sudan National League 2023–24.
The opening game in group A in Wau Stadium on Wednesday at 3 p.m. will be between hosts Al-Hilal FC Wau and Holy Family from Rumbek, while in group B, Malakia FC Juba will battle against Nile City from Yambio at 3 p.m. at Buluk Training Centre.
On Thursday, Al-Merriekh FC-Bentiu will be thistling it out against Olympic FC from Renk in Buluk Training Centre in the group C fixtures.
One game will be played in every venue in a day; however, on the last day in the two venues, four games will be played at the same time: two in Juba and another two in Wau at 3 p.m. to avoid cases of match-fixing, according to the organizers.
In Wau, the last game will be played in Wau Stadium and Isaac Stadium, whereas in Juba Buluk Training Centre, either Munuki or Jamus will host the other last fixtures of Group B and C between May 9, 2024, and May 11, 2024, respectively.
Victor Lawrence Lual, General Secretary of the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA), noted that only the sixteen registered local football associations will participate in the National League, unlike the South Sudan Cup, where all 32 registered and unregistered FAs are involved in the competition.
Lawrence revealed that the reason for the exclusion is that all the unregistered sub-FAs are yet to be approved by the Board of Directors of SSFA and adopted by the General Assembly to become full members of SSAF.
He also added that many of the sub-FAs continue to run parallel activities, contrary to the SSFA calendar. He, however, said that despite being unregistered, the FAs can still participate in the South Sudan Cup.
Lawrence further encouraged the unregistered FAs to continue carrying out their activities normally, as it forms the basis for evaluation by the Board of Directors and recommendation from the sub-FAs when considering full admission to SSFA.
“There is a lot of confusion when we talk about the sub-FA; others have just started playing their competitions, but that’s not bad because when we now want to admit them, it’s their mother FA to confirm that they have a playground, referees, including other requirements, before they are submitted to the Board of the SSFA, and finally approval by the general assembly. So the National League is purely for sixteen registered FAs, except in the South Sudan Cup, where all 32, both registered and unregistered FAs, will participate,” explained Lawrence.
The SSFA secretary general also confirmed that the number of teams participating in this year’s competition has dropped from 16 to 12 compared to the other years.
Associations that have failed to submit champions include Abyei, Nasir, Raja, and Makala.
He noted that Abeyi Local Association failed to organize any league because of the insecurity in the area, Raja started their domestic league late, hence they could not finish on time, and Nasir only organized the South Sudan Cup and failed to organize their Premier League, whereas Makala had some administrative challenges where the steering committee was unable to start work and organize the league on time as expected.
This year’s competition is sponsored by Elite Mineral Water Company, and the winner will walk away with a cash prize of $21,000, compared to $20,000 in the other previous editions. The champions will represent South Sudan in the CAF Champion’s League next year.
Summarized South Sudan National League Fixtures 2023/24/
Group A
- 01/05/2024: Al-Hilal FC (Wau) vs. Holy Family (Rumbek) 3 PM CAT, Wau Stadium.
- 02/05/2024: Salam FC (Aweil) vs. Salam FC (Kuajok) 3 PM CAT Wau Stadium.
- May 5, 2024: Holy Family FC vs. Salam FC, 3 PM CAT Wau Stadium.
- 06/05/2024: Al-Hilal FC vs. Salam FC, -3 PM CAT Wau Stadium.
- 09/05/2024: Salam FC Aweil vs. Hilal FC, -3 PM CAT Wau Stadium.
- 09/05/2024: Holy Family vs. Salam FC, 3 PM CAT Isaac Stadium.
Group B.
- 01/05/2024: Malakia (Juba) vs. Nile City (Yambio) 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- 02/05/2024: Lion Hunters FC (Yei) vs. Young Stars (Torit) 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- May 5, 2024: Malakia FC vs. Young Stars FC 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- 06/05/2024: Lion Hunters FC vs. Nile City 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- 09/05/2024: Malakia Juba vs. Lion Hunters, 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- 09/05/2024: Nile City vs. Young Stars, 3 PM CAT Munuki or Jamus Playground (TBC)
Group C:
- 03/05/2024: Al-Merriekh FC (Bentiu) vs. Olympic FC (Renk), 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- 04/05/2024: Koryom FC (Bor) vs. Tahrir FC (Melut) 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre.
- 07/05/2024 Al-Merriekh FC vs. Tahrir FC 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre
- 08/05/2024: Koryom vs. Olympic FC, 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre
- 11/05/2024: Al-Merriekh FC vs. Koryom FC, 3 PM CAT Buluk Training Centre
- 11/05/2024: Olympic FC vs. Tahrir FC 3 PM CAT Munuki or Jamus Playground (TBC)