CECAFA - Sudan Cup: El-Malakia from Juba is in Khartoum to play against El-Merrikh

Football in southern Sudan is developing and has a bright future. El-Malakia from Juba is in Khartoum to play against national giant El-Merrikh in the quarter-finals of the Sudan Cup. It is the first time in many years that a team from Juba has reached this level of the competition.

The Sudan Football Association (SFA) is holding its Annual General Meeting this week in Khartoum. Six new football associations from southern Sudan have joined this year’s assembly.

Reportedly, finance is the main reason Sudan's national team was not able to participate in this year’s CECAFA tournament in Nairobi, Kenya.

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 10 December 2009:

(Khartoum) – The Sudan Football Association (SFA) says that the national team was not able to participate in this year’s CECAFA tournament in Nairobi because of financial constraints.

The Secretary General of the SFA, Rudolf Andrea, spoke to SRS in Khartoum on Thursday.

[Rudolf Andrea]: “The national team needed plenty of training but our financial situation prevented us from participating. The time was so short, by the time the decision was taken, the start of the CECAFA competition was only a week or two away. There wasn't enough time to gather the players and prepare them to go out there to play. Finance is the main reason Sudan is not participating.”

The SFA is holding its Annual General Meeting this week in Khartoum. Six new football associations from southern Sudan have joined this year’s assembly.

In other soccer news…

El-Malakia from Juba is in Khartoum to play against national giant El-Merrikh in the quarter-finals of the Sudan Cup. It is the first time in many years that a team from Juba has reached this level of the competition.

Rudolf Andrea noted that this shows football in southern Sudan is developing and has a bright future.

[Rudolf Andrea]: “El-Malakia team reached this level after defeating Renk Olympic, Rapta Kosti and El-Merriekh from Geneina. I want to say that this is the first time a team from southern Sudan has reached this far in a competition organized by the national football association.”

El-Malakia was beaten 4-2 in Juba by El-Merrikh on Tuesday but still got a place in the quarter finals on points.

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UPDATE - From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, 11 December 2009:

(Khartoum) – Khartoum's El-Merrikh defeated Malakia from Juba 9-0 in the quarter-finals of Sudan Cup soccer tournament on Thursday evening in Omdurman.

Malakia was beaten 4-2 in Juba by El-Merrikh in the first round on Tuesday.

The chairman of El-Merrikh, Jamal Al-Wali, donated 10 million SDG to the Malakia club as well the gate money which is usually divided between the two teams.

Wali said his club donated the money to Malakia to thank them for the warm welcome and the hospitality accorded to El-Merrikh while the team was in Juba this week.

Al-Wali also donated 60 floodlights for Juba Stadium.

The donation to Malakia Football Club was announced during the match.

El-Merrikh will play Al-Hilal, their principal rival, in the final in Khartoum on Monday.

Al-Hilal defeated Al-Mirgani of Kassala 2-1 in Kassala on Thursday to earn their place in the final.

Sudanese stabbed in Cairo football dispute

Photos: Algeria v Egypt football match held in Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan. Algeria beat Egypt 1-0. (Posted at Flickr by Andrew Heavens, Nov 20, 2009)

There is still tension between Egyptian and Sudanese soccer fans following Egypt’s defeat by Algeria in Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan two weeks ago.

The Egyptians claimed that they were attacked by Algerian fans after the match and that the Sudanese authorities did nothing to protect them.

Source: Report by SRS - Sudan Radio Service, 8 December 2009:
Sudanese Stabbed in Cairo Soccer Dispute

(Khartoum) – There is still tension between Egyptian and Sudanese soccer fans following Egypt’s defeat by Algeria in Omdurman two weeks ago.

Egyptian fans claim that Sudanese police failed to protect them when fighting broke out between rival supporters after the match.

A Sudanese living in Egypt, Mahir Musa, was attacked on Monday following an argument about the match. He spoke to SRS in Cairo.

[Mahir Musa]:"I had gone to visit my relatives in Alashir. At night I went to buy cigarettes from the kiosk. I politely asked the owner of the shop to hand me a cigarette. He then noticed from the way I spoke that I was from Sudan.

He then started talking to me about the football match. From there I said I was not interested in the cigarettes anymore and that he should give me back my money so I could leave. when I said I didn’t want anything from him, I just wanted my money, he started insulting me, I got annoyed and when I responded suddenly he came out from the kiosk carrying a knife and he and his friend started attacking me by stabbing me. My relatives had to take me to the hospital. This is just one of many the incidents happening to Sudanese in Cairo.”

The Egyptians claimed that they were attacked by Algerian fans after the match and that the Sudanese authorities did nothing to protect them.

Photos: Algeria v Egypt football match held in Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan, posted at Flickr by Andrew Heavens, Nov 20, 2009.



Photo: Algeria v Egypt football match held in Omdurman, near Khartoum, Sudan. Source: Sudan Tribune report November 18, 2009 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt dispatching troops to evacuate soccer fans in Sudan: official

Egypt v Algeria football match in Khartoum, Sudan guarded by 15,000 police

From Radio Dabanga, Wednesday, November 18, 2009:
Egypt-Algeria match in Khartoum secured by fifteen thousand policemen

(Khartoum - agencies -18 November): Fifteen thousand policemen will be deployed in the streets of Khartoum. This said the Walli of Khartoum Dr. Abdel Rahman Algidir. They guard also the two hotels in which teams from Egypt and Algeria are residing. He said his government is ready to face any emergency.The riot police have surrounded the two stadiums where the teams held their last training on Monday.

Algidir said he expect 48 planes carrying Algerian fans and 18 aircrafts with Egyptian fans. More than two thousand Egyptians arrive by bus. Fans of each team will get nine thousand tickets and 17 thousand tickets are allocated to the Sudanese public.

Click on labels here below to read related reports.

Egypt angered by football violence

From The Financial Times
Egypt angered by football violence
By Heba Saleh in Cairo
November 18 2009 02:00

Algeria's ambassador to Cairo has been summoned to the foreign ministry after a series of attacks on Egyptian workers and companies by crowds of angry Algerian football fans furious at being beaten 2-0 by Egypt in a World Cup qualifier in Cairo.

The envoy was called in to explain the violence in Algeria, which Egyptian businesses say has intensified ahead of a play-off between the teams today on neutral territory in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. The match will determine which of the sides attends South Africa 2010.

Egypt is the largest investor in Algeria outside the oil and gas sector.

The two countries are traditional football rivals and their games have often been marked by violence. A World Cup qualifier in 1989 is best remembered for rioting and the issuing of an international arrest warrant against one of the Algerian players.

The violence started after reports the Algerian team had been attacked in Cairo before Saturday's match. Images broadcast on the internet showed Algerian players with blood on their faces and the team coach with broken windows.

Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian executive chairman of Orascom Telecom Holding, said mobs had ransacked the headquarters of Djezzy, Orascom's Algerian subsidiary, and destroyed its factory and 15 of its shops.

He said that with the destruction of crucial equipment there was a danger the company's network, which serves 15m subscribers, could stop functioning, and that the cost of the damage could run into "tens of millions" of dollars.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

CAF Champions League: Sudan's Al Hilal beat Kano Pillars of Nigeria 2-0

Sudan's Al Hilal were truly at home at a packed Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman Friday night as they put to sword Kano Pillars of Nigeria 2-0 in continuation of the CAF Champions League. 

Hilal have thus shot to the top of Group A with seven points from three matches, while Pillars slipped to second place with four points.

Read full story by Samm Audu at Goal.com, Friday, 14 August 2009:   CAF Champions League: Al Hilal Shoot To The Top Of Group A
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Sudan midfielder Mohamed Al-Tahir broke the deadlock on 55 minutes by slotting home vfrom the spot before Hamoda Ahmed El-Basheer put the icing on the cake on 68 minutes.

Read full story at CAF online, Friday, 14 August 2009:   Al-Hilal hand Pillars first defeat

Click on label here below for related reports and updates.



YouTube: 2009 Highlights Day 1 & Day 2 - View highlights from the first group matches: AlHilal, ESS, Zesco United, TP Mazembe, Kano Pillars, Monomotapa Utd, El Merreikh, Heartland FC

Friday's all-important CAF Champions League clash against Sudan's Al Hilal

Update:  Click on label 'CAF Champions League' (in footnote here below) for latest news and results.

Photo: The coveted Champions League trophy (Source: football365.co.za)

Nigerian Premier League club Kano Pillars have revealed that they will play their upcoming CAF Champions League matches at night to accommodate Ramadan. Slovenian coach Ivo Sajh is confident his injured skipper Bala Mohammed will be ready for Friday's all-important CAF Champions League clash against Sudan's Al Hilal.

The Sudanese champions El Merreikh are bullish of their chances against their Zambian counterparts in this weekend's CAF Champions League clash.



Photo: El Merreikh F.C., Sudan (Source: Goal.com)

Ramadan runs from August 21 until September 21 and during that time both Zesco United and Al Hilal travel to Kano for Champions League fixtures.

See further details in latest news reports listed here below.

Photo:  Nigerian fan (Source: Goal.com)

Kano Pillars Sweat On Fitness Of Skipper Bala Mohammed

Goal.com - ‎57 minutes ago‎

Slovenian coach Ivo Sajh is confident his injured skipper will be ready for Friday's all-important CAF Champions League clash against Sudan's Al Hilal. ...

El Merreikh Confident Of Victory Versus Zambia's Zesco United

Goal.com - ‎1 hour ago‎

The Sudanese champions are bullish of their chances against their Zambian counterparts in this weekend's CAF Champions League clash. ...

CAF Champions League: Kano Pillars To Play Home Games At Night ...

Goal.com - ‎22 hours ago‎

The Nigerian club have a plan for their two home games in the CAF Champions League group stage, which will fall during the Muslim Ramadan fasting period. ...

CAF Champions League: Confident Kano Pillars Arrive In Sudan

Goal.com - ‎Aug 11, 2009‎

Nigeria's flag bearers fly into Khartoum ahead of the Champions League tie against closest rivals Al Hilal... A 35-man delegation of Nigeria's Kano Pillars ...

Night games on cards for Kano

Football365.co.za - ‎2 hours ago‎

Nigerian Premier League club Kano Pillars have revealed that they will play their upcoming CAF Champions League matches at night in order to accommodate ...

Zesco United Dealt Striking Blow

Lusaka Times - ‎19 hours ago‎

Zesco United have been dealt a big blow with the news that they will be without a key player for their Caf African Champions League Group A game against El ...

Kano Pillars cautions Zesco over El Merreikh match

postzambia.com - ‎Aug 10, 2009‎

NIGERIAN side Kano Pillars of Nigeria has cautioned Zesco United to be for Saturday's Africa Champions League Group A clash Sudanese side El Merreikh. ...

Pillars' Chigozie suspended for Al Hilal Champions League clash

Triumph - ‎Aug 10, 2009‎

Nigeria's Kano Pillars will be without their libero, Maurice Chigozie, for their all-important CAF Champions League Group A clash against Al Hilal of Sudan ...

All 8 related articles »

Sudan Football Association boss publicly shreds letter from Nigeria Football Federation

Kamal Shaddad has poured more salt into injury in the row between the Sudan FA and their Nigerian counterparts...

From Goal.com by Samm Audu, Thursday 06 August 2009:
Sudan FA Boss Publicly Shreds Letter From Nigerian Counterparts

The raging war between Sudan Football Association (SFA) and their Nigerian counterparts is not about to ease after SFA president, Kamal Shaddad, further showed his total disrespect for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) by publicly shredding a letter sent to his association in respect of disputed loan transfers by Sudanese club Al Hilal.

According to Wednesday's Sudanese sports newspaper, Al Sadda, Shaddad made a public display of putting into the shredder a letter signed by NFF secretary-general, Bolaji Ojo-Oba, in which the NFF dismissed as forgeries two request letters for the International Transfer Certificates of Ajibade Omolade and a Brazilian, Quarresma.

The newspaper quoted Shaddad as saying that he does not receive official correspondences by courier, but rather via email.

However, the newspaper questioned Shaddad's position, revealing that several emails from the NFF to the Sudan FA on this transfer disappeared from the system.

Shaddad had earlier dismissed the NFF as "not a credible organisation".

In their own reaction, the NFF told the Sudan FA boss to take care of his "dubious agents in Sudan". A formal protest letter to Shaddad was also fired to Sudan.

Local rivals El Merriekh have already protested against Al Hilal for parading DR Congo's Tshubi Kabundi and Edward Sadomba from Zimbabwe in their CAF Champions League Group A clash last month.

El Merriekh argue that these two players were registered for the competition after Al Hilal illegally got rid of Omolade and Quarresma.

Officials of Kano Pillars are set to protest against Al Hilal, should they use Sadomba in their Champions League match-up on August 14 in Khartoum. The Zimbabwean featured for Al Hilal in Wednesday's league match.

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Africa: Sudan FA is Fraudulent - NFF

AllAfrica.com - ‎Aug 4, 2009‎

The Nigeria Football Federation has lambasted the Sudan Football Association for its claims over a transfer scam involving Sudanese top club, Al Hilal FC. ...

Sudanese FA accuses NFF of dishonesty over Omolade's transfer

The Guardian - Nigeria - ‎Jul 31, 2009‎

... President of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Kamal Shaddad, has lashed out at the NFF, accusing it of dishonesty. The Sudanese FA is blaming the ...

Sudan FA Blast Nigerian Counterparts As 'Not Credible'

Goal.com - ‎Jul 30, 2009‎

The president of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Kamal Shaddad, has lashed out at the NigeriaFootball Federation (NFF) over the on-going transfer ...

Sudanese FA accuses NFF of dishonesty over Omolade's transfer The Guardian - Nigeria

all 6 news articles »

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NFF Bristles over Sudan FA Falsehood

THISDAY - ‎Aug 2, 2009‎

The Nigeria Football Federation has lambasted the Sudan Football Association for its claims over a transfer scam involving Sudanese top club, Al Hilal FC. ...

CAF Champions League: Sudan's Al Hilal beat Zesco - Pillars beat El Merreikh 3-1

Sudanese giants Al-Hilal earned their first win of the group phase of the CAF Champions League with a lone goal victory of Zambian debutants Zesco United in Omdurman on Friday.

Kano Pillars of Nigeria, yesterday romped onto the top of Group A with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Sudan's El Merreikh at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano.



Photo source: Confederation of African Football (CAF), Saturday, 01 August 2009 - Al Hilal beat Zesco United for first win

See BBC Sport, Saturday, 1 August 2009 Hilal, Pillars win in Group A.

Champs League win for Al Hilal

BBC Sport - ‎Aug 1, 2009‎

Sudan's Al Hilal moved to the top of Group A of the African Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Zesco United of Zambia in Khartoum. ...

Al-Hilal beat Zesco in CAF Champions League Soccerway

Al Hilal beat Zesco United To Top Group (A) SOL

Zesco engage Al Hilal postzambia.com

The Guardian - Nigeria - Lusaka Times

all 12 news articles »

Click on CECAFA label here below for related reports on football in Sudan and latest updates.

African Champions League: El-Merrikh and El-Hilal drawing 0-0 in Omdurman, Sudan

Great footballing news from Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 20 July 2009:
Sudan teams Draw in Saturday's Champion League Match

(Khartoum) – The opening match of the African Champions League began on Saturday with El-Merrikh and El-Hilal drawing 0-0 at El-Merrikh stadium in Omdurman.

It was an exciting match for fans of both sides given the rivalry between the teams battling for soccer supremacy in the country. There was a heavy presence of anti-riot police in and around the stadium. A sport columnist for Al-Ayaam newspaper, Badr eL-Din el-Basha, described the match to Sudan Radio Service.

[Badri El-din El-Basha]: “I’m happy that El-Merrikh and El-Hilal have reached this level. This shows that Sudanese football has gone on to higher level. The two teams have not reached this stage easily; it comes from the efforts of the administration, the club members, the bench and so on. They began playing this match under pressure. It is clear there was pressure from the media, fans and administrators. You can see the first half was played in a bad mood – without concentration, they did not execute the plans of their respective coaches. Yesterday (Saturday) they were playing under pressure.”

The first half began with El-Hilal dominating possession, forcing El-Merrikh to play defensively until in the eighteenth minute when El-Merrikh’s striker Kletchi Osunwa made a dramatic attempt to score from outside the penalty box. His shot was saved by El-Hilal’s goalkeeper Muwiz Mahjoub. El-Hilal kept on their pressure up to half-time but failed to make an impression on the score.

El-Merrikh’s bench apparently changed tack and they dominated the second half but failed to score. Nevertheless, the match result is in Hilal’s favor since they were playing away in group A of the African Champions League trophy.

Click on 'CECAFA' label here below for previous news of footballing in Sudan.



Photo: Al Merreikh Stadium, Omdurman, Sudan (Merrikh - Red Castle/zerozerofootball.com)

Omdurman (Standard Arabic Umm Durmān أم درمان) is the largest city in Sudan and Khartoum State, lying on the western banks of the river Nile, opposite the capital, Khartoum. Omdurman has a population of over 3 million (2007) and is the national center of commerce. With Khartoum and Khartoum North or Bahri, it forms the cultural and industrial heart of the nation.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME PHOTOS OF OMDURMAN, JEBEL MARRA AND OTHER FASCINATING PLACES IN SUDAN

Sudan's Al-Merrikh Through to CECAFA Final - In a Globalized World, Sports Emerges as a Force for Change

From Sudan Radio Service, Friday, 10 July 2009:
Al-Merrikh Through to CECAFA Final

Friday, 10 July 2009 – (Khartoum) – Sudan’s Al-Merrikh has qualified for the final of the CECAFA Club Championship after defeating Mazimbe of the Democratic Republic of Congo at home on Thursday night in the semi-finals. Final score 2- 1.

Mazimbe of the DRC scored their first goal in the 15th minute of the first half while Al-Merrikh Nigerian’s striker, Endurance Idahor, scored for Al-Merrikh in the second half, making both teams level at the final whistle.

An extra thirty minutes were added. Al-Merrikh’s Idahor scored the second and winning goal just minutes before the end of extra time.

Al-Merrikh, three times winner of the CECAFA cup, will play in the final on Sunday evening against the winner of the other semi-final match, between Mathare United of Kenya and Atraco of Rwanda on Friday night.

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Today, I posted this at Blair Foundation Watch.

From The New York Times
In a Globalized World, Sports Emerges as a Force for Change
By ROB HUGHES
Published: July 10, 2009

LONDON — The sporting superstar has reached a level of global recognition beyond any film star.

“There is no movie star in the world who could get thousands of people to wait six hours just to see their arrival, as Cristiano Ronaldo did this week,” said David Puttnam, filmmaker turned law maker in the British House of Lords.

Puttnam, who over 30 years produced award-winning films, including “Chariots of Fire,” “The Killing Fields,” “Bugsy Malone,” and “Memphis Belle,” is certain that Tom Cruise could not hope to draw 80,000 to a movie theater the way Ronaldo did to his signing ceremony at Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium last Monday.

“I have watched the dynamic of the superstar shift from film to sports,” Puttnam added. “The whole level of globalization of sports is bigger. The key is engagement. The power of sport has taken the movie industry by surprise.”

We were speaking at the Beyond Sport summit meeting in London where Puttnam — now Lord Puttnam, legislator and ambassador for Unicef — joined people from government offices to ground workers in some of the world’s most violent crime spots to discuss the power of sports.

Fame need not be frivolous. Puttnam, 68, has witnessed the emergence of celebrity added to charitable causes, from Danny Kaye, the American actor, singer and dancer of the 1950s, to the David Beckham phenomenon today.

He shared a panel at Beyond Sport with Tony Blair, the former British prime minister now working on reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Beside them was Prince Faisal Al Hussein, adviser to Jordan’s armed forces as well as the founder of Generations for Peace, which attempts to use sport to unite youth.

And besides them was Dikembe Mutombo, a former N.B.A. star now using his stature back home in the Democratic Republic of Congo to construct hospitals and research centers in his hometown of Kinshasa. Mutombo went to the United States on a scholarship hoping to become a doctor. He returned to Africa as more than a doctor, using fame and fortune, to try to turn the tide of H.I.V.

He appeals to soccer in particular to put more back into a continent, which European clubs have plundered of so many star players.

Even down to Ronaldo, there is a social conscience that should not be overlooked. Showmanship is a major part of his talent, and playing the prima dona is second nature to him.

Yet this same performer who loves the crowd to love him also, at the relatively unknowing age of 20, was one of the first in to Aceh Province after the tsunami devastation of December 2004. Touched by the bravery of a boy found wandering the beach, lost after most of his family were washed away in the horror, Ronaldo paid for the boy to attend a match involving his own national team, Portugal.

The player, then at Manchester United, flew to Indonesia to give his time and presence to raise more than a billion rupiahs, then about $90,000, toward rebuilding homes.

“I never cease to be thrilled by some of the players I meet and the way they handle all that surrounds them,” Puttnam said at Beyond Sport. “The Barcelona club pays Unicef to wear our logo on the shirts, and more than that I’ve talked to the players.

“They tell me they get a thrill representing the world’s children. I’ve never had the same conversation with Manchester United players about A.I.G.” The United shirt is sponsored by the American insurance company, though the club has worked for nine years with Unicef without going that extra step that Barcelona did in paying the charity to wear the insignia.

But nobody supposes that sports clubs are anything less than big businesses these days. The fusion of cricket and Bollywood captures the modern world — and the worlds of celebrity, sport and entertainment.

Blair, the politician discovering the extraordinary pulling power of sports, said: “Most world leaders I have met enjoy something about sport, and some even play. But I think over the years it has become of a different magnitude, and we are only just beginning to understand the utility of sports.” He recalls going into a classroom in Japan and trying to relate to children. “I was introduced as the prime minister of Britain,” he says. No response. “I tried to say London.” A flicker.

“Then I said Beck-ham ... Ah, yes, I had a response.” Blair said that the more he learned about the power of government, the more he also discovered the limits of government. Sport, he suggested, could sometimes unlock those limitations.

Later, sitting besides Michael Johnson, the American sprinting icon, Blair admitted: “You know, Michael, when I told my own family who I was meeting today, they were suddenly interested. My kids are used to me talking about world leaders, but a real live sporting superstar, that was something different.” As we left the room, Blair took the opportunity to have his photograph taken with Johnson. For the children, no doubt.

It was reminiscent of Carlos Menem, the Argentine president from 1989-99, appointing Diego Maradona as a sporting ambassador for the world. The president shamelessly courted the soccer star, basked in his popularity. He didn’t know that at that time, leading up to the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Maradona had already begun the drug addiction in Naples that ultimately destroyed him as a player, and almost as a man.

This is heady stuff, when politicians and the rest of us put the fleeting stars of sports high on a pedestal, asking some of them to sort out the world’s problems.

Click on tag label CECAFA (here below) to see previous footballing news reports here at Sudan Watch.