By Kei Emmanuel Duku.
South Sudan National Team, the Bright Stars, has commenced training in preparation for the upcoming 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
The non-residential training sessions are taking place at Juba Stadium under the guidance of Coach Nicholas Dupius.
A provisional squad of thirty players has been called up, including fifteen foreign-based and fifteen domestic players.
While the domestic players have already begun training, the foreign players are expected to join the squad once their club commitments are completed.
The Bright Stars are grouped alongside Uganda, Congo Brazzaville, and South Africa in Group K.
Their qualifying journey will begin with an away match against Congo Brazzaville on September 9th, 2024. They will then host Bafana Bafana in Juba Stadium a week later.
A total of 48 nations are divided into 12 groups of four. The top two finishers in each group, excluding Morocco (the tournament hosts), will qualify for the AFCON 2025.
If Morocco finishes first or second in their group, they will automatically qualify along with the second-placed team.
If Morocco finishes third or fourth, they will still qualify, but the first-placed team in their group will also qualify.