Sudan's U-17 Women's Soccer Team Makes Historic Return to International Play Amidst Civil War

The visual contrast at Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca was striking. Against the bright green pitch, a squad of teenage girls in red jerseys stepped into the stadium lights. While the global sports world focused its attention on the Men's World Cup in North America, a different kind of soccer history was quietly unfolding in Morocco. Sudan's Under-17 women's national team took the field for a 2028 Los Angeles Olympics qualifying match, marking the country's first international women's soccer appearance since a devastating civil war erupted in 2023.[1][2]

The scoreboard at the end of the two-leg tie against Comoros was unforgiving. The inexperienced Sudanese squad conceded 30 goals across the two matches, suffering heavy 17-0 and 13-0 defeats. Yet, as the final whistle blew and players broke down in tears in front of a small crowd of cheering fans, the numerical result felt entirely secondary to the triumph of their presence on the international stage.[1][4]

"My goal is to lift up soccer in my country," said seventeen-year-old team captain Nura Mohamed. For Mohamed and her teammates, simply playing the game represents a profound victory over the circumstances they left behind. "It's a beautiful, unique feeling because, at the end of the day, I just love playing."[1][3]

The roster itself is a testament to resilience. The team is primarily composed of teenage schoolgirls, some of whom have fled the ongoing conflict in their home country. Many had never played in an organized league or set foot in a major stadium before arriving in Morocco. They were assembled and began training only weeks prior to the qualifiers, facing an older, fitter Comoros squad that featured players competing in European leagues.[1][5]

Sudan's soccer federation made the unconventional choice to enter a youth squad into the Olympic qualifiers because they were unable to safely assemble a senior women's team in time. Rather than forfeit their place in the tournament, they sent the U-17 squad. Head coach Burhan Tia acknowledged the massive disparity in experience, noting that his team could not yet compete at the highest level, but stressed that the matches were a necessary foundational step.[2][4]

The context of women's soccer in Sudan makes the team's existence even more remarkable. For decades, women's participation in sports was heavily restricted under strict public order laws. It was not until the Sudanese revolution of 2018 and 2019 that these bans were abolished, leading to the creation of a 21-team women's domestic league and the eventual recognition of the national team by the Confederation of African Football.[7]

That nascent progress was shattered when civil war broke out in April 2023, collapsing the newly formed sporting infrastructure. Manal Ali Bushra, head of the women's soccer committee, highlighted the extraordinary sacrifices made to revive the program. She noted that players traveled immense distances to attend training camps, often separated from their families, driven purely by their dedication to the sport.[3][5]

Despite the heavy defeats in Morocco, the young team has already begun finding the back of the net elsewhere. At the recent CECAFA U17 Women's Championship in Tanzania, the squad celebrated historic milestones when forwards Fatin Fadol and Naswa Abbas scored the team's first international goals, proving that the groundwork for a competitive future is slowly being laid.[6]

Still, prominent voices caution against viewing the team solely through a romanticized lens. Sudanese women's rights activist Hala Al-Karib has dismissed critics who claim the team is merely a progressive public relations tool for the state, but she stressed that the federation must commit to genuine reform. Without transparent financial investment and long-term structural support, advocates warn that women's soccer will struggle to survive in Sudan.[4][5]

For now, the politics and the war fade into the background when the referee blows the whistle. The tears shed on the pitch in Casablanca were a complex mix of athletic frustration, overwhelming relief, and the heavy emotional toll of representing a fractured nation. For these teenagers, chasing a ball across the grass is the first step in rebuilding a dream.[1][2]