WATCH: President William Ruto rallies fans as international football returns to Kenya

The football fever has again hit Kenya, attracting the big shots, including President William Ruto.

Ruto, 56, took a moment off his busy schedule on Tuesday to rally fans ahead of the Harambee Stars football friendly against neighbours South Sudan on Tuesday at the Moi Kasarani Sports Complex.

In a video shared on the Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa's official Twitter handle, Ruto is seen congratulating the team over last week's 2-1 friendly win over Qatar before calling out fans.

"Congratulations, Harambee Stars, for winning against the Qatari national team last week; I am happy very many Kenyans showed up in Qatar to cheer our team," Ruto said.

"As you are all aware, today at 4 pm, Harambee Stars will be playing against South Sudan; I want to ask all Kenyans to show up at 4 pm to cheer our champions, the Harambee Stars," he added.

Engin Firat's charges, who were drawn in Group C alongside Namibia, Cameroon and Burundi, didn't participate in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers following a nine-month FIFA ban, which was uplifted in November 2022.

South Sudan will be led by former KCCA FC forward Tito Okello, former Ondupraka FC, and Arua Hill centre-back Rashid Toha, both recently signed for Kenyan Premier League side Kenya Police FC.

Both sides last met in March 2021 in a friendly game the hosts won 1-0, with their last game at home coming in November 2021 during a 2-1 win against Rwanda in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.