Sudan’s domestic football league has resumed for the first time since civil war erupted in April 2023, marking a rare moment of unity in a shattered nation.
The Sudan Football Association has launched the one-month Sudan Elite League, featuring eight clubs and serving as a qualifier for the 2025–26 continental tournaments.
Historic powerhouses Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who’ve dominated Sudanese football for decades, had been playing in Mauritania due to the ongoing conflict at home.
Despite Al Hilal winning Mauritania’s 2024–25 top division and Al Merrikh finishing sixth, both missed out on continental qualification.
The Elite League kicked off on July 4 with Al Hilal beating Al Mirigani 2–0, and Al Merrikh edging past Al Hali Madani 1–0.
The much-anticipated Al Hilal–Al Merrikh derby is scheduled for July 22, concluding a league also featuring Hay Al Wadi, Al Zamala, Al Amal Atbara, and Marikh Al Obeid.
Matches are being held in Atbara and Ad-Damer—hundreds of kilometres from war-torn Khartoum, where stadiums have been rendered unusable.
Sudan, a nation of 48 million, continues to suffer the ravages of war between General Abdel Fattah al Burhan’s army and Rapid Support Forces, with over 150,000 dead and 12 million displaced.
The United Nations reports widespread famine and disease; local outlets say more than 500,000 children have died from malnutrition.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres last year described Sudan’s crisis as a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement.”
Amid the turmoil, Sudan’s national team secured a spot in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, set for December in Morocco—a flicker of hope in a country gasping for relief.
