Sudanese Champions Al Hilal Forge Path to CAF Glory
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Editor
- . March 30, 2025
- . Update: March 30, 2025 1:50 pm
Despite the civil war in their home country of Sudan, Al Hilal football club showed remarkable courage by moving to Mauritania and reaching the CAF Champions League quarterfinals. The 30-time national champion Al Hilal Football Club of Sudan ran away to Mauritania in April 2023 because of armed conflicts between Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces. The continuous war in Sudan causes ten-thousand deaths and pushes twelve-million people to leave their homes.
Sudan forced me to leave home, and my family joined me on a journey starting in Djibouti and ending in France. At 63 years old, football coach Florent Ibenge explains how his departure from the Democratic Republic of Congo happened quickly and scared him.
When Sudanese football enforced its suspension, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh agreed to join the Mauritanian essential games for their team’s training needs. Their adoptive domestic league let them prepare for achievements at continental levels.
We deeply appreciate our Mauritanian friends for letting us compete in their national tournament said team leader Mohamed Abdelrahman, who joined Al Hilal when he was 16 in 2010. First-division matches in Mauritania help us prepare well for our African competitions.
After their successful run in the recent seasons, the “Blue Wave” team confronts their toughest opponent yet in the title defending Al Ahly Club of Egypt. The first match of the quarterfinals kicks off on Tuesday in Cairo before the teams face each other again on April 8 at Nouakchott Stadium in Mauritania.
Al Hilal’s performance in their adopted league has been impressive:
- Currently fourth in the Mauritanian championship
- They are six points behind leaders Nouadhibou with four games in hand
- Record of 11 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses
