Playing Is The Victory: In Defeat, Sudanese Women Find A Rare Triumph
For Sudanese women football players, participation meant far more than the actual score line. Returning to action for the first time since a devastating civil war erupted in April 2023, the team traveled to Morocco to compete at the 2028 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Los Angeles Games. Because of the civil war, the country's domestic sports set-up has completely collapsed, and the authorities failed to assemble a senior team. Instead, they sent an inexperienced Under-17 side. Having trained for only a few weeks, the young team suffered crushing 17-0 and 13-0 defeats against Comoros, conceding 30 goals across two legs of the first round. Beyond the battlefield, they faced deeply rooted societal taboos and cultural opposition from religious conservatives who historically banned women's sports under Omar al-Bashir's three-decade rule, marked by Public Order Laws that rights groups said restricted women's freedoms.
Sudan's U-17 women's national team warms up before a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's U-17 women's national team warms up before a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's U-17 women's national team warms up before a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's U-17 women's national team, left, shakes hand with Comorros women's national team, ahead of their soccer match during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's U-17 women's national team players cheer each other on during a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's U-17 women's national team players, in red, defend the ball during a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's flag is hoisted next to a FIFA flag during a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudanese fans cheer on their U-17 women's national team during a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
Sudan's U-17 women's national team, in red, plays a soccer match against Comoros, during qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, in Casablanca, Morocco. | Photo: AP
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