CECAFA teams South Sudan and Uganda will face formidable opponents in their opening matches of the 13th edition of the African Games in Accra, Ghana on Thursday at the Accra Sports Stadium.In Group B matches Uganda will take to the field first against a tough opponent Nigeria, while South Sudan will battle Senegal at the Accra Sports Stadium.Ahead of the game, Uganda head coach Uganda Kobs head coach Morley Byekwaso Ochama says they not afraid of their opponents who are the pre-match favourites on paper.##NAJAVA_MECA_7929628##“We do respect Nigeria, but we do not fear them,” said the former International in an interview with CECAFA media.South Sudan coach Bilal Felix on the other hand says they will not be cowed by any opponent in the tournament and will do everything possible to make a long-lasting impact in their debut appearance.“This is our first time in these Games and we want to make names by playing well against some of these big teams,” he said.Against All Odds: The inspirational journey of Paul Jawa, refugee turned football starThe South Sudanese team has three players who play for varuous clubs in Kenya.Striker Paul Jawa, center-back Daniel Bichiok, and winger Jacob Addis are attached to Rainbow FC, Nairobi United, and Sofapaka respectively.Tunisia is the other team in Group B, while Group A has hosts Ghana, The Gambia, Benin, and Congo Brazzaville.Three Kenyan-based players make South Sudan squad for African GamesAll quarterfinalists of the Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt last year qualified for the Games with Ghana making it by virtue of being host.South Sudan reached the last eight courtesy of Jawa’s two goals in the tournament.The women’s action will start on Friday with Nigeria battling Morocco, while Ghana face Ethiopia, and Tanzania battle Uganda on Saturday. All women’s matches will be played at the Cape Coast Stadium.Men’s groupsGroup A: Ghana, The Gambia, Benin, Congo BrazzavilleGroup B: Nigeria, South Sudan, Senegal, Uganda, TunisiaWomen’s groupsGroup A: Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, EthiopiaGroup B: Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco
