Sudan defying war to bring joy at AFCON 2025

Waves of jubilation crashed over the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday, as Sudan's male footballers celebrated their first victory in the Africa Cup of Nations for 13 years with their fans.

The African country secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in their second group game of the 2025 tournament, which secured their passage to the last 16. They face Burkina Faso in their final group game on Wednesday.

As well as being their first AFCON win since 2012, this was only Sudan's second win at the tournament since it won the trophy in 1970. Celebrations in fan zones at home were as heartfelt as those in Morocco. Fans waved national flags and honked their car horns. Hundreds chanted "Sudan! Sudan! Sudan!" and danced.

The Sudanese people are proud of their national team and proud of their homeland. "Playing and winning games makes our people at home happy. We try to put a little smile on their faces despite the difficulties they are going through," explained midfielder Mohamed Abuaagla.

Such scenes of joy have become increasingly rare in Sudan since April 2023, when a power struggle between the military and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group escalated. Open fighting ensued, accompanied by widespread mass murder, rape and ethnically motivated violence.

The United Nations (UN) described the raging civil war as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. "The war has destroyed many parts of the country and killed far too many innocent people," said Abuaagla.

According to the UN, the conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives so far, with aid organizations estimating the figure to be significantly higher. More than 14 million people have been displaced since the outbreak of war, while disease and famine continue to spread in parts of the country.

But the Sudanese national team has already defied the devastating situation just by qualifying for the tournament. "I keep telling the players: ‘Fight for your people back home. Make sure that the people in war-torn Sudan can feel at least a moment of joy,'" national team coach Kwesi Appiah explained. The 65-year-old said he couldn't imagine a greater motivation.

For many Sudanese, Appiah's team has become a symbol of hope and a rare source of joy, offering a momentary escape from the war.

"The team plays for all people in and outside Sudan," Idris Ahmed told DW. Ahmed works at the Sudanese Embassy in Rabat and helps Sudanese people who have traveled to Morocco to find their way around the tournament.

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He has high hopes that the performance of the 'Falcons of Jediane,' as the national team is also known, will have a positive impact on his troubled homeland.

"The players now face the challenge of putting a smile on the faces of the Sudanese people and helping them, if only for a moment, to forget the bitterness and pain of the ongoing war in Sudan," Ahmed said.

Ahmed also recalls the heyday of Sudanese footballers, who won the tournament in their homeland in 1970. Football has a great past to look back on, he explained. "There are exceptional circumstances at the moment but, God willing, Sudan will regain its former strength."

Appiah is also trying to keep the focus on the sporting side of things after the victory over Equatorial Guinea. "Our goal is to win the title, not just to win a single match," he stressed after the win in Casablanca.

The goals are ambitious. But even if they cannot be achieved, the players have already accomplished a great deal by participating in Morocco. "This team brings us joy, despite the pain we have suffered in Sudan over the last three years," concluded Sudan fan Badr-Eddine Zambel.

This article was originally published in German.