By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan’s representative in 2024/25 Women’s Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) has returned to Juba following a 1-0 defeat to Torit Select Women in a pre-season friendly.
The loss in Torit marked the first defeat for Yei Joint Stars in their pre-season campaign. The team had previously overcome Yei Legends 2-1 in Juba.
Club secretary Doggy Isaac Samson explained that the Torit tour aimed to expose players, particularly those signed outside the country, to different environments while also scouting for new talent.
“We’ve been struggling to find players in Juba, so we decided to camp outside to discover new talents,” Samson said.
Yei Joint Stars will next compete in the CECAFA Women’s Championship in Ethiopia from August 17 to September 4. The team has been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Commercial Bank of Ethiopia FC, Kenya Police Bullets, Warrior Queens of Zanzibar, and Rwanda’s Royan Sports Women’s FC.
Their opening match is against Kenya Police Bullets on August 20th, concluding the group fixtures with a clash against Warrior Queens.
Before departing for Ethiopia, Yei Joint Stars plan to play a friendly match against either Munuki or Al-Rabbita Women’s FC.
Samson hopes the match will boost team morale and create a competitive atmosphere. The club is in talks with the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) to host the friendly at Juba Stadium.
“We aim to travel to Ethiopia before August 17th but need to play a friendly first,” Samson added.
“We’ve contacted both Munuki and Al-Rabbita and whoever responds first will be our opponent. We prefer to play at Juba Stadium but are still discussing it with SSFA.”