“I am excited, everyone is excited, you have to be excited,” the Sudan international Abdelrahman Kuku says and that’s understandable. Sudan need a point against Niger on Thursday to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations – for the fourth time in 24 tournaments – and eliminate Ghana. That would be impressive enough given the circumstances but the Jediane Falcons are also soaring at the top of their World Cup qualification group after four games as they seek to qualify for the first time.
The circumstances, though, are as dire as can be. The country of almost 50 million is being torn apart by a fierce civil war that broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said in October that millions are not able to escape from a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”.
“The war drives the team on,” Kuku says. “It is a big push for us, knowing that we are pretty much the only reason for people to be happy in Sudan. When we play, that is all that happens in the country. The war stops for 90 minutes as everyone watches, there is no fighting.”
Unsurprisingly, there is no football being played in Sudan and all the players are based overseas, even those who belong to the league’s two powerhouse clubs. Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh are temporarily playing in the Mauritanian league but even if they finish first, they will not be champions. “That was the only choice to give players a chance to escape the war and the country,” says Kuku.
When they gather overseas during international windows, the conversation focuses on home. “They all talk about how beautiful Sudan was and how they wish to play in front of our great fans,” he says. “When the players see what is happening on TV or online, they say ‘this is not the country I remember’.”
The cultured centre-back was born in Egypt to Sudanese parents before leaving for Australia and joining Western Sydney Wanderers aged 16. After a spell playing and studying in the US, he was signed by Al-Merrikh and then loaned to the Libyan giants Al-Ittihad. A first call-up came in March and he has been a regular ever since. “My dad was very happy when it happened. When I was young, I played at youth level for Australia but he always told me that ‘you will play for us’ as a joke but now it is a reality.”
It was also a smooth process. “Sudanese people, as everyone knows, are nice, polite and friendly,” the 27-year-old says. “It was all very welcoming and easy to fit in and there was just no tension. If you go to European teams, you can get people thinking that outsiders are coming in to take your place but in Sudan they love that people are coming in from other leagues, it is the first time.”
The results are also almost unprecedented. Much credit is given to the coach, Kwesi Appiah, who took the job last October. A former coach of his native Ghana, the 64-year-old has led Sudan to the top of Group B of World Cup qualification with 10 points from four games, two clear of Senegal. On the road to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Sudan were expected to finish third behind Angola and the mighty Ghana but they drew 0-0 in Accra on 10 October andfive days later beat the Black Stars 2-0.
It was satisfying for a number of reasons. “To beat Ghana was very good and not just for us and the country, but the coach,” Kuku says. “He was their head coach but they kicked him out.”
Kuku puts down the team’s self-belief to Appiah. “I love our team as we fear no one and don’t think about the other team. It doesn’t matter if they have Neymar, Ronaldo or Jordan Ayew, we just think about ourselves. We are fearless and have so much heart.
“Ghana underestimated us a lot. When we played them in Ghana, we faced a lot of difficulties but we played to our strengths. They thought we were lucky and they thought it would be the same in Benghazi but we won.”
Playing in Libya has been a comfortable home base and there were more than 7,000 fans at the Benina Martyrs stadium in the country’s second largest city for the victory last month. “I was shocked at the number of fans we have here,” Kuku says. “That was another thing Ghana underestimated as they thought they would be playing at an empty stadium but the Libyans are playing a big role in our success, they are hosting us. It is not easy to leave your country but they have welcomed us, taken care of us and made us feel at home.”
What they all want however, is to play at their real home, in Khartoum, Omdurman or anywhere. “This is something that we talk about,” Kuku says. “Even our coach says that when we make the World Cup, it will end the war, just look at what [Didier] Drogba did.”
In 2005, when Ivory Coast clinched qualification for a first World Cup with a win in Sudan, the striker picked up the microphone during the post-match celebrations and addressed a divided nation as players danced and sang ‘we want to have fun, so stop firing your guns’.
“Football is more than just a game,” Kuku says. “It brought the people together in Ivory Coast and we hope it can help bring an end to the war.”
