South Sudan will participate in the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 is slated for the end of this year, the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) President Francis Amin has said.
‘‘The President of SSFA Mr. Francis Michael Amin said South Sudan will play in preliminary round FIFA Arab Cup 2021 due to [take] place in December 2021 in Qatar,’’ the association tweeted on Monday morning.
On February 27, 2021, the Bright Stars received an invitation from the world governing body FIFA, to participate in the tournament. The event will be a curtain-raiser for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
‘‘Together with the hosts Qatar, FIFA would like to use this opportunity to showcase the best of Arab football while ensuring the highest standards of event delivery and hospitality, as the region gears up to host the biggest event in the world in 2022,’’ a request letter from FIFA reads, as quoted by SSFA.
‘‘The tournament will be played across state-of-the-art stadia, each of which will host matches at the FIFA World Cup twelve months later.’’
It is to not only provide a test-run for the facilities but also a snippet into the media coverage, fanbase and player preparation.
According to SSFA, the tournament will attract 23 teams from Asia and Africa. They include Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Tunisia. The Asian ones are Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.