🇸🇩 Sudan's quest for World Cup qualification is about much more than just football

The Jediane Falcons are playing against a backdrop of civil war!

A recent headline called Sudan’s civil war “the most nihilistic conflict on earth.”

More than 150,000 people have died since fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group broke out across the north African nation two years ago.

12 million have fled their homes. There is famine. A genocide is claimed to have occurred in the western Darfur region of the country. According to the United Nations, Sudan is currently facing the world's gravest humanitarian crisis.

The backdrop to Sudan’s 2026 World Cup qualification campaign could hardly be more dire. In times like these, football doesn’t matter. And yet it’s in times like these that it matters most of all.

Victory over Senegal on Friday would move the Jediane Falcons to within touching distance of next summer’s tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Sudan has never appeared at a World Cup before. This, however, is a story that’s about much more than just football.