The Sudan women's national football team () is the official women's national football team of the country of

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The team was established in 2021, and is controlled by the

Sudan Football Association The Sudan Football Association (S.F.A.) () is the governing body of football in Sudan. It was established in 1936 and affiliated with FIFA in 1948. Along with the national associations of Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa, the Sudan Football Assoc ...

(SFA), the governing body for

football in Sudan The sport of football in the East African country of Sudan is managed by the Sudan Football Association. The association administers the national football team, as well as the Premier League. The Sudan Football Association, which was founded ...

. Women were not allowed to officially participate in sports such as football, until the Sudanese revolution of 2018–19 abolished the former restrictive public order laws. In September 2019, a women's league with 21 teams from different cities in Sudan was established. The national team first qualified for the

2021 Arab Women's Cup The 2021 Arab Women's Cup () was the second edition of the Arab Women's Cup for national women's football teams affiliated with the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The tournament was hosted by Egypt between 24 August and 6 September 20 ...

, organized by the

Union of Arab Football Associations The Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA; ; ) is the governing body of football in the Arab League. Established in 1974, UAFA is an independent body comprising 22 member associations: twelve from Asia and ten from Africa. UAFA organises a n ...

(UAFA) in Cairo, Egypt.

History

Background

The

, which was founded in 1946, and became FIFA affiliated in 1948, was one of the founding members of the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

(CAF), and continues to be a member of the Confederation. According to a 2011 study of the relationship between

religious fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...

and

globalized Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

societies, the fact that some Sudanese women already had started playing football since the early 2000s despite social and legal restrictions was considered a critical step for the development of an unofficial women's league. As part of this informal league, a first national women's team called The Challenge was created in 2006 in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

. In 2006, The Challenge played its first competitive match. It was captained by Sara Edward and played against a team from Sudan University that wore clothes corresponding to Islamic norms. As reported, the quality of play was not high and the game ended in a 2–0 win for The Challenge team. In response to a question from FIFA regarding the feasibility of creating a women's national team in 2012, the Islamic Fiqh Council issued another fatwa against the creation of a women's soccer team, deeming it an immoral act. The fatwa claimed that football was a men's sport and women should not participate in it, because it challenges the differences between men and women.

Recognition

Following the establishment of a women's league in 2019 with 21 teams from different cities under the new

transitional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

, the

recognized and started to support women's local and national teams. At the start of 2021, Sudan's women's national team continued to lack FIFA recognition. By August of that year, however, it had been recognized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was invited to participate in the

. Since its official recognition in 2019, Sudan joined other countries in the Arab and African regions to have a women's league. Due to its membership in the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the national team's first international competition was in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, when they played in the

Arab Women's Cup The Arab Women's Cup () is an international football competition between the senior women's national teams of the members of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the sport's governing body for countries in the Arab world. The compe ...

In popular media

The 2019 award-winning documentary '' Khartoum Offside'' by Sudanese filmmaker

Marwa Zein Marwa Zein ( born 4 December 1985) is a Sudanese film director, scriptwriter and film producer. She is the author of the 2019 documentary, '' Khartoum Offside'', and an advocate of women's rights through her work. She is the founder of ORE Pro ...

tells the story of the women who made up The Challenge team under the Islamist government of the time.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Source
Goalzz.com
;Legend

2025

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Manager history

* Faroug Jabra (2021–2022) * Imed Houjly (2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly match against South Sudan in February 2022.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the squad in the past 12 months. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^PRE Preliminary squad.
^SUS Player is serving a suspension.
^WD Player withdrew for personal reasons.

Records

''*Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 26 August 2021.''

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on

penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. T ...

.''

Olympic Games

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on

.''

Africa Women Cup of Nations

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.''

African Games

CECAFA Women's Championship

Arab Women's Cup

All−time record against FIFA recognized nations

The list shown below shows the Sudan national football team all−time international record against opposing nations.
''*As of 22 February 2022 after match against South Sudan.'' ;Key

Notes

References

External links

Sudan's fearless female footballers
– short video by Deutsche Welle {{Authority control Arabic women's national association football teams Sudan women's national football team African women's national association football teams Sport in Sudan by sport Women's football in Sudan