South Sudan joins Fifa 10 months after Independence
26, May, BBC
South Sudan has become the 209th member of football's world governing
body Fifa.The African country was voted into full membership by
delegates at Fifa's annual congress in the Hungarian capital
Budapest.Having gained independence last July, South Sudan joined the
Confederation of African Football (Caf) in February.The team will now be
eligible to play in the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
and 2018 World Cup.
"I want to assure you that we are going to follow the statutes and
regulations of Fifa and obey the law of our good game," said South Sudan
FA president Oliver Mori Benjamin in an acceptance speech."In
particular, we are still suffering from war, so we promise that we will
develop football to fight against war, hunger and poverty."I want to
assure you that in my state in South Sudan, Abyei, we are still in a war
zone but I promise in a few days, we are going to raise the flag of Fifa
in Abyei for the good of our people.
"South Sudan and Sudan have been blighted by conflict in recent
times, with peace talks between the two nations due to resume next week
after several border skirmishes and bombardments.Benjamin also thanked
Issa Hayatou, the Caf president, for South Sudan's rapid rise into the
global football family."I want to thanks the president of Caf for our
admission to Caf in Gabon [in February] - we are really so happy and
satisfied under your leadership in Africa."I would like to thank the
Sudan national association for football for your fruitful co-operation
and for your acceptance of our membership in Caf."
South Sudan has been able to join Fifa just 10 months after
independence thanks to a change in the body's statutes.Previously, any
new state had to be a member of its confederation for two years before
being eligible to join Fifa.South Sudan's FA had previously been told
that the earliest it could become a Fifa member was 2014.But delegates
gave a 98 per cent "yes" vote to the proposal to admit the South
Sudanese in Budapest on Friday.
In a friendly game organised as part of the independence day
celebrations in July 2011, a South Sudan side lost 3-1 to Kenyan team
Tusker FC.
Meanwhile, Lydia Nsekera 's place on the Executive Committee was also
ratified on Friday as the Burundian made Fifa history."I am delighted we
have the first ever lady in our executive committee in 108 years," said
Fifa chief Sepp Blatter after she took her seat on the podium to a
standing ovation from delegates."The people of Burundi will bang their
drums today, they will be very proud," Nsekera, 45, told delegates."It
is also an important date in my family because 25 May is the birthday of
my husband who passed away in 2003."In my family we celebrate someone's
birthday even if they have passed away, so it's a special day and I
thank you." |