When the Sudanese under‑17 women’s national soccer team stepped onto a dusty pitch in Casablanca, the moment felt like a quiet rebellion against years of conflict.
The squad, composed mostly of schoolgirls who had only weeks of collective training, suffered heavy defeats, losing 0‑12 and 0‑18 to Comoros and conceding a total of 30 goals.
Coach Burhan Tia, a former youth mentor, had to scramble for players across Sudan and even into neighboring Egypt, recruiting talents like Nura Mohamed and Manal Ali Bushra from schools that had never imagined a national team.
Their journey is set against a backdrop of a civil war that erupted in 2023, displacing 14 million people and killing more than 40 000, while the country’s women’s league was born after the 2019 revolution that toppled Omar al‑Bashir.
Prejudice and Protest
The matches sparked a torrent of online abuse, with commentators mocking the players and urging them to “go back to the kitchen.” Prominent preacher Abdulhay Yousif added fuel to the fire by condemning the league as an attempt to undermine religion.
Political scientist Liv Tønnessen has argued that the military government’s support for the team is a calculated move to project an image of legitimacy amid a fractured state.
Women’s rights activist Hala Al‑Karib has called for urgent reform within the Sudanese Football Federation, insisting that sustainable investment is needed to protect teenage athletes from the war’s fallout.
Despite the setbacks, the team’s presence in Morocco is seen as a beacon of hope, a reminder that even in the darkest times, sport can carve a path toward a brighter future, perhaps even a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.