December 4th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan has declared that it will not continue participation in CECAFA championship over financial constraints faced by the world’s youngest country.
The development comes a day after Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a guest nation, confirmed they will not participate in the event over unknown commitments.
The South Sudan Football Association admitted they are not in a position to raise the participation fee demanded by the organizers, saying they have no option but to withdraw from the regional tournament.
“The administration of the South Sudan Football Association [SSFA] would like to take this opportunity to thank the administration of Cecafa for their good work of rendering to the development of football, especially in the East African region,” a statement by South Sudan Football Association seen by Nyamilepedia partly read.
“As per the recent draws for the upcoming Cecafa tournament which is scheduled for this month of December in Uganda we are grateful South Sudan have been invited to participate in this competition.
“Due to the current financial status of the federation, we are unable to settle the Cecafa fee and a written letter dated December 2 stating commitment to pay the participation fee amount of USD 20,000 [Twenty Thousand United States Dollars] next year was not considered.
“We are, therefore, writing to inform you that South Sudan will not participate in these competitions since we are unable to pay the participation fee as demanded.”
South Sudan admitted they are ready to participate in future competitions though.
“It is not our intention to withdraw from this upcoming Cecafa Challenge Cup but understand we are not able to fulfil the requirements as demanded by Cecafa,” the statement continued. “We hope to participate in the future Cecafa competition.”
