Sudan Under-17 Women's Soccer Team Plays First International Matches Since 2023

Sudan's under-17 women's national soccer team traveled to Casablanca, Morocco, last week for Olympic qualifying matches. The inexperienced squad lost 17-0 and 13-0 to Comoros. Players had trained together for only weeks before the matches.

Sudan's women's soccer activities stopped when civil war began in 2023. The soccer federation fielded an under-17 team to keep Sudan's place in the qualifiers after it could not assemble a senior squad. Nura Mohamed, the 17-year-old team captain, said her goal is to lift up soccer in her country.

Burhan Tia, who oversees Sudan's women's national teams, said the team is made up mainly of schoolgirls while opponents field players who compete in Europe.

The United Nations has described the war as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. More than 40,000 people have been killed and over 14 million displaced since fighting began between the military and the Rapid Support Forces. Manal Ali Bushra, who heads the women's soccer committee, said some players traveled long distances for training and many are separated from their families.

The federation plans to build a sports city and renovate stadiums in safer areas. Tia recruited players from schools across Sudan and from Sudanese communities in Egypt after many families fled the war.