Kwesi Appiah is known as a humble man. But when he is asked about his goals at the 35th Africa Cup, which has just started, the 65-year-old football teacher shows little reserve. “’Sudan sensationally becomes African champion’ – that’s the line I want to read after the tournament,” says the native Ghanaian. But: The mere fact that the Sudan national team was able to qualify for the finals of the African Championships in Morocco is nothing short of a sensation.
A brutal civil war has been raging in Sudan for years. The UN even speaks of the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe. The entire region is hardly accessible to international helpers; the EU is currently sending water, tents and medicine to the crisis spot by airlift. However, normal civilian life is unthinkable and natural: football has not been played in Sudan for a long time.
The national league has been on pause since 2023. And yet: the national team plays undaunted. Organized from Libya, where a small delegation from the Sudanese Football Association has moved, national coach Appiah’s team plays international matches and takes part in tournaments. The strange thing is that it causes one football surprise after another.
The jump to the Africa Cup, for example, was achieved by leaving the big favorites Ghana behind in the qualification. “You just have to believe in yourself,” explained successful coach Appiah after the triumph over his home country. “I keep telling the players: Do it for your country, for your homeland. Make sure that the people of troubled Sudan can feel at least a moment of joy,” explains Appiah.
In 2014 he was the national coach of Ghana’s celebrated World Cup participants. Now he threw Ghana, which was full of top stars from the European leagues, out of the competition with unknown players from the civil war country.
The players from Sudan are homeless
When you look a little deeper into the everyday life of football coach Kwesi Appiah, his successes become even more astonishing: Appiah can only choose his national players from a pool of around 100 players who play football fairly professionally. Because there is no longer a domestic league, the country’s two major clubs, Al Hilal and El Merreikh, have moved their activities abroad.
In the 2024/25 season they took part in the league of neighboring Mauritania, and since this season they have been part of the Rwandan league. The players are homeless, driving and flying from hotel to hotel – it’s a huge logistical effort. Both clubs have around 40 players under contract because they also have to provide the national team squad and the chosen ones are constantly on the move.
Because the “proud falcons”, as Appiah’s team is called on the continent, are in constant use. In 2024 and 2025, in addition to qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations, the team also played the World Cup qualifiers. The 2026 World Cup was only narrowly missed.
Against the continent’s big teams such as Senegal, DR Congo and Togo, Appiah’s team led the table until September – only in the last two games did they slip out of the first two qualifying places. And that even though they only play away games. Formally scheduled “home games” cannot be played in Sudan, but usually take place in Libya.
Icon Abderahman returns
In addition, there were the “Chan” competitions for the Sudanese frequent players, which is the African Championship only for players who are also active in club football on the African continent. And recently the national team took part in the FIFA Arab Cup, which was played in Qatar in November and December.
Appiah sees it pragmatically: “We used the Arab Cup as a preparation tournament for the Africa Cup.” The team was eliminated there after the group phase, but they didn’t take it too seriously: “I was able to try out a few things and for the Africa Cup we are getting a few strong players with Sudanese roots that we recently found in Malaysia and Australia,” explains Appiah.
Also back in Morocco is the country’s iconic player – Mohamed Abderahman, who plays several important roles as captain, record player and record goalscorer. As a center forward, the now 32-year-old has been the team’s greatest goal threat for almost ten years, but has been injured in the past few weeks. Abderahman is fast, agile and has learned to assert himself against seemingly overwhelming opposing defenses.
The Sudanese game is simple and clearly structured: you play from solid cover, and when you win the ball, it is usually played straight to Abderahman. And then his teammates move in like a raid. Numerous favorites have already had to admit defeat to Sudan’s decisive and almost perfectly practiced tactics.
In Morocco, group opponents Algeria – the first opponent this Wednesday (4 p.m. on Sportdigital) -, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea will have to deal with this in the preliminary round. You will face a highly motivated team of opponents. Because for Appiah it is clear: “If I say to the boys in the speech: ‘Fight for your people back home. Make sure that they have at least a little reason to smile for a moment’ – then you can’t imagine a greater motivation.”
