By Philip Buda Ladu
South Sudan’s women’s football powerhouse, Yei Joint Stars FC, has secured a major signing with the acquisition of Ugandan Women’s National Football Team player, Lilian Mutuuzo from Kampala Queens.
Mutuuzo, a talented and energetic forward born in 2002, inked a one-year contract on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024, at 3:00 PM CAT at the Office of the Yei Local Football Association.
The signing was witnessed by Club Secretary Mr. Dogga Isaac Samson and the SG of Yei Local Football Association, Mr. Kenyi.
“We are thrilled to welcome Lilian Mutuuzo to the Yei Joint Stars FC family,” the club announced on its official social media page. “Her exceptional talent and vibrant energy are sure to be a valuable asset to our team.”
In a statement to fans after sealing of the deal for the Ugandan international forward, Yei Joint Stars FC Secretary Isaac addressed concerns about transfer activity.
“I understand some of you were getting impatient with what you perceived as a lack of transfers. Let me assure you, Lilian is just the first of several new faces joining our squad, both from within South Sudan and outside” he emphasized.
The Yei Joint Stars FC management is actively strengthening their squad in preparation for the CAF Women’s Club Championship 2024 in the CECAFA Region.
The championship will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from mid-August to September 2024.
“We can’t wait to see Lilian shine on the field and contribute to the team’s success. Join us in welcoming her to Yei Joint Stars FC!” Samson added.
In April this year organizing committee for South Sudan Women’s Cup third edition disqualified Ambayo Immaculate, a player for Yei Joint Stars, for the rest of the remaining fixtures over unclear transfer signing.
Bentiu City SC in their petition to the organizing committee accused Yei Joint Stars of fielding an unregistered player in the name of Ambayo Immaculate, who is believed to be playing in Uganda women’s football.
The committee noted that during the deliberation, it was found that Immaculate is a player of Scared Heart Ladies FC, a club registered in Uganda, and Yei Joint Stars did not use the right procedures while signing the player.
An International Transfer Certificate (ITC) is a document that allows a player to move or transfer from one Federation to another, and Federation of Ugandan Football Association (FUFA) stated that the eligibility of the player to participate in any SSFA-organized matches is unacceptable under the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) rules and regulations.
“Players registered at one association may only be registered at a new association once an ITC from the former association has been received, and the ITC shall be issued free of charge without any conditions or time limit. Any provision to the contrary shall be null and void.”
“The association issuing the ITC shall lodge a copy with FIFA. Furthermore, associations are forbidden from requesting that an ITC be issued to allow a player to participate in friendly matches in the context of a trial,” FIFA Article 3, Section 9.1 states.
Therefore, the organizing committee of South Sudan Women Cup decided to overturn a 5:0 victory of Yei Joint Stars by 2:0 in favor of Bentiu City SC under Article 80(a) of SSFA General Regulations 2012 amended in 2019 and advised Yei Joint Stars to deregister the player from the club list.