CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) 鈥� Their red jerseys stood out against the green pitch. Most were teenage girls. Some had fled war. Others had never played in an organized soccer league or set foot in a major stadium before.
Yet when they took the field at Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, they marked first appearance in international women鈥檚 soccer since erupted in a country where women鈥檚 participation in sports has long been controversial.
鈥淢y goal is to lift up soccer in my country,鈥� Nura Mohamed, the 17-year-old team captain, told The Associated Press.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful, unique feeling because, at the end of the day, I just love playing.鈥�
厂耻诲补苍鈥檚 under-17 women鈥檚 national team traveled to Morocco last week for qualifying matches on the road to the . The inexperienced squad suffered heavy defeats against Comoros, conceding 30 goals in two matches. Many of the players broke down in tears after the final whistle in front of a dozen cheering fans.
They faced an older, fitter, and more experienced opponent. Unable to assemble a senior women鈥檚 squad in time, 厂耻诲补苍鈥檚 soccer federation entered a younger team to avoid forfeiting its place in the qualifiers. They only started training weeks ago.
鈥淭he difference between us and the others is huge. We cannot yet compete at the highest level,” Burhan Tia, a veteran Sudanese soccer coach who oversees all of 厂耻诲补苍鈥檚 women鈥檚 national teams, said after the first match, a 17鈥�0 defeat.
鈥淐omoros has many players competing in Europe, our team is mainly made up of schoolgirls.”
This team represents hope for Sudan’s future
厂耻诲补苍鈥檚 women鈥檚 soccer collapsed when . For federation officials, debuting this young squad in after years of conflict marks an important step in keeping women’s soccer alive in Sudan.
鈥淪ome traveled long distances just to attend training. Many are separated from their families, yet they continue to work hard and pursue their dream,” Manal Ali Bushra, a businesswoman who heads the women鈥檚 soccer committee, told the AP.
To support that vision, Ali Bushra said the federation is working on infrastructure projects, including a planned sports city and the renovation of key stadiums in safer parts of the country. She declined to answer questions about the women鈥檚 program budget and funds.
Tia knew the magnitude of the challenge when he accepted the job of rebuilding a shattered team.
鈥淔irst, I had to find girls who played soccer. Then, once I found girls who played, I had to make sure they were the right age,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen I needed to convince their parents to let them miss classes for training.鈥�
With the league suspended, his scouting trips took him to schools across Sudan and to neighboring Egypt, where many families had fled the war. He recruited 10 players from teams and academies in Cairo, with the rest drawn from Sudanese cities.
Tia would have liked to recruit from conflict-hit areas like or , a region known for producing 厂耻诲补苍鈥檚 top athletes. But many girls had lost their identification documents, making it impossible to verify their ages under international regulations. The war has also shattered transportation, turning journeys between cities that once took hours into perilous trips lasting days.
On the field, the players鈥� lack of experience was evident. Several struggled with basic positioning, failing to hold the offside line or maintain tactical discipline. Throughout the matches, they repeatedly looked to the sidelines for instructions from the coach and his assistant.
Facing war, fatwas and conservatism
The United Nations has described the war in Sudan as the world鈥檚 . It began in 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into fighting marked by mass killings, rape and ethnic violence. More than 40,000 people have been killed, according to U.N. figures, and over 14 million have been displaced, with famine and disease spreading across parts of the country.
The war halted every sports activity, including the women鈥檚 soccer league, which was officially established after the 2019 progressive revolution that ousted . His three-decade Islamist rule was marked by Public Order Laws that rights groups said restricted women鈥檚 freedoms. Even after the revolution, prominent Sudanese preacher Abdulhay Yousif said the establishment of a women鈥檚 football league was aimed at undermining religion.
鈥淭he idea of women running, jumping, sweating, and even something as simple as their bodies being visible in motion, was seen by Bashir鈥檚 Islamist regime as producing fitna, which in a Sudanese context was understood as sexual or moral chaos,鈥� Liv T酶nnessen, a political scientist researching gender politics in Sudan, told the AP.
鈥淪o when women step onto a soccer pitch, they are directly confronting that entire logic. They are not just present in a male-dominated sports arena, they are moving freely in it, on their own terms,鈥� T酶nnessen, a former guest researcher in a women-only university in Sudan, added.
Beyond institutional hurdles, players also faced a wave of sexist abuse online. On the national team鈥檚 social media accounts, many commenters mocked them for big defeats. Others posted the phrase 鈥済o back to the kitchen,鈥� in multiple languages.
A team caught in politics
While Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan鈥檚 military government has allowed international soccer trips for teenage girls, the U.N. has documented by the Sudanese Armed Forces, which he commands.
T酶nnessen sees the state backing as a calculated effort by the military to project legitimacy. By sponsoring the team, she said, the army attempts to signal that the state is functioning normally and to align itself with the spirit of the 2019 revolution.
Hala Al-Karib, a prominent Sudanese women鈥檚 rights activist, dismissed critics who say the team is being used to portray a more progressive image on women鈥檚 rights.
鈥淭he main challenge for me is a reform of the federation,鈥� she told the AP, citing a lack of investment in and support for women鈥檚 soccer in Sudan.
Back on the field in Casablanca, the politics, war and debate faded away, leaving only a group of teenagers chasing a ball.
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