Sudan kicks off first women's football tournament amidst clergy’s discontent

The first tournament of women’s football league kicked off in Sudan on September 30 with a game between two Khartoum-based teams. The event was watched by crowds of fans and diplomatic figures who cheered on the stadiums. Noting, that the League includes 21 teams from all over the North African country and the match was announced this August in a move unprecedented under the rule of toppled President Omar Bashir. Commenting on this development, the new minister of youth and sports, Walaa Issam, described it as a ‘historic day not only for sports but for Sudan as a whole’. “We, at the ministry, will give special attention to women’s sports in general, and particularly to the women’s football infrastructure,” Issam said. For his part, the head of the Sudan Scholars Association, Mohamad Uthman Saleh, remarked saying, the forces of freedom have a clear agenda to secularize the state through changing the Sudanese society norms in every way up to the religious beliefs of the country. He pointed out that the timing of the launch of the women’s football league is evident of the becoming secular state. Saleh clarified that although Islamic teachings allow women to practice sports, however they restrict them to health and decency related limitations. “Men watching women playing football with revealing clothes is not permissible”, Saleh concluded. (Al Diyar, October 3, 2019)