The story of Sudan’s national football team at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is about more than goals and wins. It is a story of playing for a country that is suffering.
For striker John Mano, 24, the pain is very personal. He talks about the death of his best friend, Medo, who was killed during the civil war that started in April 2023.
Medo was trying to get papers to leave Sudan when he was stopped. “They asked if he was working with the army,” Mano explains, his voice steady but his eyes intense. “He just wanted to explain. They didn’t give him a chance. They shot him more than 20 times.”
Medo is one of over 150,000 people killed in the fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). More than 12 million people have been forced from their homes. There is widespread hunger, and football has stopped completely inside the country.
Stadiums are damaged. The national league is gone. Big clubs now play in other countries like Rwanda. “We don’t have a league, we don’t have anything,” says Mano. “But we can’t complain because people in my country can’t eat.”
Despite this, Sudan’s team, the Falcons of Jediane, has reached the Cup of Nations finals. It is a huge achievement. They had to play their qualifying “home” games in other countries.
Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah, who leads the team, has a hard job. He must keep players focused when many have not been paid and some have lost family members. “We try to let players know, even though they’re gone, they are looking at you and what you can do now for the nation,” Appiah says.
Many players, like Mano and team captain Bakhit Khamis, now play for clubs in Libya to escape the war. But Mano could not leave before facing danger himself. He recalls being stopped by armed men who recognized him as a player for club side Al Hilal.
“They made fun of us,” Mano says. “They said, ‘I support a Al Mereikh. I can kill you right now and nobody will ask me.’ I cannot forget this story until I die.”
Now, the national team has become a family and a symbol of hope. “Football is the only relief we have as Sudanese people,” says Captain Khamis. “It is the only thing that can make us happy and help us forget the pain.”
Coach Appiah tells a powerful story. After Sudan beat Ghana in the AFCON qualifiers, they learned that soldiers back home had celebrated the win. “At least for one day, they put their guns down,” Appiah says. He dreams that the war will end so everyone can return home.
For the players, football has become their way to fight. “We’re trying to free our country the football way,” says Mano. He sends a message to fans back home, many of whom cannot even watch or listen to the games, the team will battle for them all the way.
Their goal in Morocco is not just to win matches, but to remind the world of Sudan and to bring a moment of unity to a divided nation.