South Africa based Abraham Majok has big hopes for South Sudan

(cafonline.com)

Abraham Majok hopes that South Sudan’s journey will inspire the nation and make history in world football. The South Sudanese are working to qualify for their first ever TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and their performance in the preliminary stages against Djibouti puts them in a good position to get to compete in the biggest competition on the continent.

The Bright Stars beat Djibouti 4-2 in the first leg of the qualifier at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Egypt. Stefano Cusin’s side will host the return leg at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Uganda on 27 March.

The 23-year-old was born in Kenya to Sudanese parents who fled their country of birth due to war that was ravaging that part of the continent. When his family moved to Australia when he was five years old his mother encouraged him and his two brothers to play football with other kids in order for the family to integrate with the community. Luckily, Majok took to the sport like fire and even started watching YouTube videos to improve his skills. He has since grown from that and after representing Australia in the Under-23 division, he is now representing his country of birth at international stage.

For Majok, qualifying for the 34th edition of the Afcon in Cote d'Ivoire would not only change the tide for the players in the current squad but for the whole country and those who would want play football and represent their country.

“It will change everything. What Senegal did for the country, just that, is inspiration for me. And to get a chance like (Sadio) Mane or Mohamed Salah to play for their country and just able to bring change to my country. Not just football wise, but also give hope to the people that there's a generation out there that could change the history of the country. It would just be something amazing. I also envision this myself, just imagine what it would be like if South Sudan actually qualified for the Afcon, For the first time in history,” he says.