South Sudan President Salva Kiir will this evening be one of the supporters inside the National Stadium Juba, as his country takes on the Uganda Cranes in an international football friendly match.
A combined Cranes team of senior and junior players arrived safely in Juba on Monday morning and had light training later in the day.
Bunnamwaya FC defender Edward Ssali who will skipper the team said he is happy to be given the opportunity to lead the Cranes against South Sudan and added that all they want is a win. The game will be handled by referees from Kenya who arrived on Sunday.
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Leo Adraa, one of the Cranes’ assistant coaches together with the Hippos coaches Paul Nkata and Abudallah Mubiru, told URN that the game will be taken seriously because it is a build-up which the senior players are using to prepare ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia in September and October. The junior players are meanwhile also preparing for a 2013 Africa Youth Championship qualifier against Ghana on July 27.
Speaking at South Sudan 2 Hotel in Juba, Adraa said the game is unique for the team as junior and senior players will be mixed with, adding that the South Sudan team would not be taken for granted.
The hosts, who are in celebratory mood of the first independence anniversary, will look to the home support, but the Cranes led by senior players Ali Kimera, Edward Ssali, Joseph Ochaya, Ceaser Okuthi, Steven Bengo and Julius Ogwang, have an upper hand to win the game to maintain their dominance in the region.
South Sudan’s newly-hired Serbian coach, Zoran Djordjevic, later said that although they respect Uganda because they have achieved a lot, his boys will battle hard till the last whistle. He said the team still has a long way to go, but they are ready and looking forward to battling the regional champions.
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The home side will look to their Indian-based professional striker James Joseph, goalkeeper Jumma Genaro and skipper Richard Justin who plies his trade with Khartoum FC, a team based Sudan.
The Cranes players in Juba include Ali Kimera, Jamal Salim, Nicholas Wadada, Joseph Ochaya, Edward Ssali and Yusuf Mukisa. Also on the team are Gift Ali, Dennis Guma, Julius Ogwang, Kizito Luwagga, Ceaser Okuthi, Steven Bengo, Dennis Bigala, William Wadri, Simon Namwanja, Alex Tuliraba, Robert Omunuk and Apio George Abege.
