Three Sudanese football clubs join Rwanda league amid civil war

Sudan’s top three football clubs are set to join the Rwanda Premier League this season, as reported by The New Arab via Reuters on 25th October.

Sudan has been in the middle of a large-scale humanitarian crisis as a result of a civil war that broke out in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The extent of violence has been examined to be critical, with suspected war crimes being committed as hundreds die from drone strikes.  Furthermore, residents have been exposed to severe conditions, with 3000 dead from Cholera, food aid shortages persisting, and thousands attempting to flee their homes.

A reported 30 million people require humanitarian aid in Sudan.

As a result of the dire conditions across the country, Sudan’s domestic sporting league has been put on hold, with the country’s champions having to be decided through a month-long competition rather than through a traditional league structure.

Last season, however, two of Sudan’s biggest premier football teams, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, were given permission to play in Mauritania’s top-flight football league, the Super D1.

For the upcoming football season, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh are reportedly joining another Sudanese team, Al Ahli Wad Madani, in Rwanda’s premier league. This marks the biggest long-term involvement that top-flight Sudanese football clubs have been able to have in the sport they love since the civil war erupted over two years ago.

As Al Hilal look forward to the group phase of this season’s African Champions League, and the Sudan national team prepare to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations in Libya at the end of this year, it is clear that Sudanese football is fighting to survive amid the horrors unfolding across the country.

Much like the rest of the country, clubs outside the top flight remain neglected as Sudan’s football infrastructure continues to be shaken by the ongoing conflict.

The New Arab via Reuters, Maghrebi.org