The teenagers in Sudan carry with them the dream of women’s football

Their red jerseys stood out against the green field at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca. Most were teenage girls. Some had fled the civil war in Sudan. Others had never played in an organized league or entered a major stadium.

Yet their appearance marked a milestone. The Sudanese women’s team returned to international football for the first time since the outbreak of the civil war in 2023, in a country where women’s participation in the sport has long faced resistance.

“My goal is to boost football in my country,” 17-year-old captain Nura Mohamed told the Associated Press. “It’s a beautiful, unique feeling, because at the end of the day I just love to play.”

Sudan traveled to Morocco for qualifying matches en route to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but played the Under-17 side after failing to field a senior team. The inexperienced team, who had only trained together for a few weeks, suffered 17-0 and 13-0 defeats to Comoros, conceding 30 goals in two games.

«The difference between us and the others is huge. We cannot compete at the highest level yet,» said Burhan Tia, who oversees Sudan’s women’s national teams. «In the Comoros, many players compete in Europe. Our team consists mainly of schoolgirls.»

For the Sudanese Football Federation, entering the field was already a victory. The civil war brought women’s football to a standstill after the league, launched after the 2019 revolution that toppled Omar al-Bashir, was suspended.

«Some have traveled long distances just to train. Many have been separated from their families, yet they continue to work hard and pursue their dreams,» said Manal Ali Bushra, head of the federation’s women’s football committee.

Rebuilding the team proved daunting. Tia scouted schools in Sudan and refugee communities in Egypt and recruited ten players from academies in Cairo. Many girls in conflict-affected areas lacked the identification documents needed for international competition, while damaged infrastructure made traveling across the country dangerous.

The team’s inexperience was clearly visible, with players struggling tactically and often looking to the bench for instructions. Off the field they also faced sexist abuse on social media, where critics mocked their defeats and told them to ‘go back to the kitchen’.

The conflict, caused by a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced more than 14 million, according to the United Nations.

Political scientist Liv Tønnessen said the players were challenging decades of restrictions on women under Bashir’s Islamist rule.

“When women enter a football field, they are immediately confronted with that whole logic,” she said.

Despite politics, criticism and war, the young Sudanese players continued to chase the ball, representing the hope of a sport and a generation trying to rebuild.

Published on June 17, 2026