The Secretary General of the wold Football governing body, FIFA is in Djibouti on an official visit.

Fatma Samoura together with her team arrived in Djibouti yesterday ahead of her meetings with several stakeholders including the Prime Minister Kanil Mohamed.

“This first working visit to Djibouti in my capacity as Secretary General of FIFA gives me the opportunity to meet the main players in Djibouti Football and to discuss with them the situation of football in Djibouti,” said the Samoura.

The FIFA Secretary General made it clear that she also wants to use the visit to advocate for increased financial support from the government of Djibouti and the private sector.

The other members who traveled together with Samoura includes; Sarai Bareman (Head of FIFA Women’s Football Division), Geraldine Heinen (Representative of the Member Associations Division of FIFA), Naoise King (Communications Officer of the Office of the FIFA Secretary General) and Cinzia Miotto (Personal Assistant to the FIFA Secretary General).

In September this year Samoura also visited the Member Associations of South Africa, Kenya and South Sudan.

Uganda have picked a convincing 7-2 win over hosts Kenya in the second round first leg of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

Star player Juliet Nalukenge gave Uganda the lead after only two minutes at the Nyayo Stadium as the home side failed to defend well.

The hosts tried to fight back, but again conceded a second goal through Margaret Kunihira after 18 minutes. Fauzia Najjemba made it 3-0 for Uganda after 21 minutes before Shamirah Nalugya converted a penalty to make it 4-0.

Nalukenge netted her second goal, while Sumaya Komuntale made it 6-0 at the stroke of half time.

The Kenyan team returned determined to score some goals as Shayiene Opisa netted a brace to make it 2-6. But Komuntale netted a second of the day after 88 minutes to make sure coach Ayub Khalifa Kiyingi’s team win the match 7-2.

“We are happy to pick a win in Nairobi. We need to go back and plan well for the return leg,” said Kiyingi after the match.

In the other qualifying matches played by teams from the CECAFA region, Ethiopia defeated hosts Rwanda 4-0 in a game played in Kigali yesterday. Rediet Asresahegn netted a brace, while Aregash Kalsa and Turist Lema were also on the score sheet.

On Saturday Tanzania picked a 3-0 win away to Eritrea, while Burundi humbled Namibia 3-0 in a match played in Bujumbura. Olga Niyomwungere, Bora Ineza and Noella Irakoze scored for Burundi.

The return legs of the second round of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers for Africa will be played between October 7-9^th.

The Secretary General of FIFA, Fatma Samoura has said she wants the number of women playing football in South Sudan to increase ten times than it is now by 2026.

Samoura arrived in South Sudan on Friday on a 2-day fact finding mission. She is accompanied by FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer, Sarai Bareman.

The FIFA team arrived from Nairobi, Kenya where they graced the final of the CECAFA zonal qualifier of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League on Thursday.

“I am happy with the football developments am seeing in South Sudan. I would love to see the number of women playing football increase by ten times what it is today by 2026,” said Samoura.

She made it clear that women’s football is the world fastest growing sport today. “We need to keep finding new strategies and developing football around the world,” she added.

General Augustino Maduot Parek, the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) President thanked Samoura for making time to visit South Sudan. “We are glad you are here to visit South Sudan and see how far we have gone and what we need to do to improve football in the country,” said the SSFA President.

She later visited the Juba National Stadium and watched a women’s football match at the Buluk training ground.

Samoura is expected to meet the South Sudan Minister of  Youth and Sports, Dr. Albino Bol today, before meeting other football stakeholders.