Women's football in Sudan explained

Boxwidth:250
Women's football in Sudan
Union:Sudan Football Association
Country:Sudan
Sport:football
Nationalteam:Women's national team
First:2019
Clubs:21 (2019)
National List:FIFA Women's World Cup
Women's Africa Cup of Nations
Arab Women's Cup
Intl List:CAF Women's Champions League

Women in Sudan were not allowed to officially participate in sports such as football, until the revolution of 2018–19 abolished the former restrictive public order laws. In September 2019, a women's league with 21 teams from different cities in Sudan was established, with Wala'a Essam al-Boushi, the Sudanese Minister of Youth and Sport, saying the transitional government will "make women's sports one of the pillars of the country's development."

History

Background

Women's football in Africa in general faces many challenges, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women and fundamental inequalities that also causes female specific human rights abuses.[1] At the same time, when female players in Africa have become successful, some leave their home countries to seek greater opportunities in places such as Europe or the United States.[2] Funding for women's football in Africa is an issue, as most of the funding comes from FIFA, not the National Football Association.

The Sudan Football Association, which was founded in 1946, and became FIFA affiliated in 1948,[3] was one of the founding members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and continues to be a member of the Confederation.[4] In 2006, there were 440 men's clubs for football in Sudan.[5] In November 2011, a female association member, Laila Khalid from Palestine, attended a meeting in South Africa where women's football was discussed, specifically mentioning the problems faced in growing the game in Africa.

Since its official recognition in 2019, Sudan joined other countries in the Arab and African regions to have a women's league. Due to its membership in the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the national team's first international competition was in 2021, when they played in the Arab Women's Cup.[6] [7]

Before Sudan's first official women's football league was organized in September 2019, there had been several women's teams in major cities such as Khartoum. Under the so-called Public Order Laws of the Islamist governments of the time, these teams were formed a few years before 2019 in an unofficial way, received no support by the Sudan Football Association and had to train and play under difficult conditions.[8] Women's sports like football were further restricted, because a fatwa (religious ruling) by the Islamic Fiqh Council in 2006 condemned the creation of a women's league in Sudan.[9] Further, common social attitudes towards women do not favour women in sports, and support by their families is an important requirement for them.[10]

In the mainly Christian southern part of Sudan in 2006, the local government indicated their support of women's football, and a competition with teams from all the ten states of modern-day South Sudan was organized in the southern region's capital, Juba.[11] [12] Following the independence of South Sudan in 2011, a women's national football team was created the same year.[13] Responding to the interest in women's football matches in Arab-speaking countries, the rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup were bought by Al Jazeera.[14]

Beginnings of women's football since the early 2000s

According to a 2011 study of the relationship between religious fundamentalism and globalized societies, the fact that some Sudanese women already had started playing football since the early 2000s despite social and legal restrictions was considered a critical step for the development of an unofficial women's league. As part of this informal league, a first national women's team called The Challenge was created in 2006 in Khartoum. Different from other teams that demanded players to wear headscarves and long trousers, the players of The Challenge did not cover their heads or wear long clothes. At the time, all women's football clubs were not recognized, nor received support from the Sudan Football Association.[15] [16] In 2006, The Challenge played its first competitive match. It was captained by Sara Edward and played against a team from Sudan University that wore clothes corresponding to Islamic norms. As reported, the quality of play was not high and the game ended in a 2–0 win for The Challenge team.[17] [18] By 2009, there were ten senior women's teams, a school-based competition and a regional competition were established.[19] [20] Young girls informally also have been playing the game in refugee camps in the Darfur region.[21] [22]

In response to a question from FIFA regarding the feasibility of creating a women's national team in 2012,[23] the Islamic Fiqh Council issued another fatwa against the creation of a women's soccer team, deeming it an immoral act.[24] The fatwa claimed that football was a men's sport and women should not participate in it, because it challenges the differences between men and women.[25]

Recognition in 2019

Following the establishment of a women's league in 2019 with 21 teams from different cities under the new transitional government, the Sudan Football Association recognized and started to support women's local and national teams.[26] As of 2021, Sudan's women's national team continued to lack FIFA recognition.[27] By August of that year, however, it had been recognized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was invited to participate in the 2021 Arab Women's Cup.[28]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jean Williams. A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football. 15 December 2007. Berg. 978-1-84520-674-1. 186. 13 April 2012. 8 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140108030437/http://books.google.com/books?id=VuIp04RvKX8C&pg=PA157. live.
  2. Book: Gabriel Kuhn. Soccer Vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics. 24 February 2011. PM Press. 978-1-60486-053-5. 34. 13 April 2012. 8 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140108030506/http://books.google.com/books?id=BwmsLxiWvnwC&pg=PA34. live.
  3. FIFA. 2006. Women's Football Today. https://web.archive.org/web/20120814213100/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/women/93/77/21/factsheets.pdf. dead. 14 August 2012. 184. 17 April 2012.
  4. Saavedra. Martha E. Women's Football in the Horn of Africa. dead. African Women's Football in the Global Sports Arena. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222140343/http://www.nai.uu.se/ecas-4/panels/141-156/panel-152/Martha%20Saavedra%20-%20Abstract.pdf. 22 February 2014. 21 April 2012.
  5. Book: Tom Dunmore. Historical Dictionary of Soccer. 16 September 2011. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-7188-5. 568–569. 13 April 2012. 3 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140103151412/http://books.google.com/books?id=9j1wbp2t1usC&pg=PA59. live.
  6. Web site: Sudan - Soccer - Team Profile - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics - Global Sports Archive .
  7. Web site: 2021-09-07 . Arab nations reap rewards of development of women's game . 2022-07-28 . www.fifa.com . en .
  8. Web site: 8 December 2019. Sudan's First Female Football Stars Push for Women's Rights. 28 August 2021. www.voanews.com. en. 28 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210828125634/https://www.voanews.com/africa/sudans-first-female-football-stars-push-womens-rights. live.
  9. Web site: 23 June 2011. الرياضة النسائية .."1". Alintibaha.net. وبين يدي فتوى أخرى صادرة عن ذات مجمع الفقه الإسلامي حول تكوين فرق نسائية لكرة القدم ... بالإشارة إلى استفتائك بتاريخ: 5/ يناير2012م عن الموضوع أعلاه، وسؤالك عن: هل يجوز تكوين فرق نسائية لكرة القدم تنافس في إفريقيا وآسيا وأوربا استجابة لتوجيه «الفيفا» التي تطلب منا ذلك: نفيدك بأن الدائرة المختصة بالمجمع قد درست هذا الموضوع، وأجابت عنه بالآتي: ... ثانياً: وعليه فإن تكوين فرق نسائية لكرة القدم لتلعب خارج السودان في إفريقيا وآسيا وأروبا لا شك أولى بالحظر والمنع، فهو أكثر مفسدة ... الثاً: إن طلب «الفيفا» تكوين هذه الفرق لا يصلح دليلاً لجواز الممنوع، ولا رافعاً لحكم الشريعة. 21 April 2012. 15 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200115203355/http://alintibaha.net/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8579:--l1r&catid=106:2011-06-23-04-26-07&Itemid=765. dead. Arabic.
  10. Web site: Naib. Fatima. 3 May 2015. Tackling taboos: Women's football in Sudan. 28 August 2021. www.aljazeera.com. en. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219053302/https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2015/5/3/tackling-taboos-womens-football-in-sudan/. live.
  11. News: TEXT- Salava Kiir statement before South Sudan parliament. Sudan Tribune. 21 April 2012. 29 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111129211445/http://www.sudantribune.com/TEXT-Salava-Kiir-statement-before,14995. dead.
  12. News: Girls football kicks off in Sudan. Sudan Tribune. 21 April 2012. 30 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110730073505/http://www.sudantribune.com/Girls-football-kicks-off-in-Sudan,14142. dead.
  13. Web site: Football. CAF-Confedération Africaine du. CAFOnline.com. 28 August 2021. CAFOnline.com. en. 9 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184635/https://www.cafonline.com/member-associations/ssd/. live.
  14. News: 2011. FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011TM Media Rights Licensees. FIFA. dead. 21 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014131/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/tv/01/42/89/65/fifawomensworldcupgermany2011mediarightslicenseeslist.pdf. 3 December 2013.
  15. Book: Ulrika Mårtensson. Jennifer Bailey. Fundamentalism in the Modern World Vol 2: Fundamentalism and Communication: Culture, Media and the Public Sphere. 13 April 2012. 19 July 2011. I.B. Tauris. 978-1-84885-331-7. 320–325. 18 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140618000600/http://books.google.com/books?id=2w6A19pcK8QC&pg=PA322. live.
  16. News: Big game hunters. The Sunday Times. London, England. 3 June 2007. 21 April 2012. Jonathan. Northcroft. 12. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215211/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AAUNB%3ALSTB&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=10D29609A4A30F10&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=1053B823C33F21F9. dead. !
  17. News: 24 February 2006. Sudanese women play first competitive soccer. Sudan Tribune. 21 April 2012. 29 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120329085859/http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudanese-women-play-first,14234. dead.
  18. Web site: http://www.sudaneseinphilly.com/t136-topic . ar:فتيات كرة القدم السودانية يبحثن عن ملاعب ومخرج لورطتهن . Sudaneseinphilly.com . 21 April 2012 . ar . dead . https://archive.today/20130203044634/http://www.sudaneseinphilly.com/t136-topic . 3 February 2013 .
  19. Web site: 16 April 2012. FIFA. Goal! Football: Sudan. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142538/http://www.fifa.com/mm/goalproject/sud_eng.pdf. dead. 4 March 2016. 21 April 2009. 3.
  20. News: South Sudan prepares for East African sports competitions . Sudan Tribune . 21 April 2012 . 29 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120629092315/http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-prepares-for-East,32033 . dead .
  21. News: Desperation leads Darfur children to take aid workers hostage . Sudan Tribune . 21 April 2012 . 30 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110730103342/https://www.sudantribune.com/Desperation-leads-Darfur-children,13250 . dead .
  22. News: Sudan's neglected nightmare . Sudan Tribune . 21 April 2012 . 29 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110729054647/http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-s-neglected-nightmare,3277 . dead .
  23. Web site: January 2012. ar:فتوى بتحريم الكرة النسائية فى السودان. http://www3.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=596187&SecID=298&IssueID=0. ar. 22 April 2012. 9 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120209101433/http://www3.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=596187&SecID=298&IssueID=0. live.
  24. News: Sudan's Islamic Fiqh Council bans formation of }} soccer team ]. Sudan Tribune . 21 April 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120329085905/http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-s-Islamic-Fiqh-Council-bans%2C41389 . 29 March 2012 .
  25. Web site: http://www.meshkat.net/index.php/meshkat/index/6/9650/content . ar:شبكة المشكاة الإسلامية . Meshkat.net . 16 February 2012 . 21 April 2012 . ar . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120221031643/http://www.meshkat.net/index.php/meshkat/index/6/9650/content . 21 February 2012 .
  26. Web site: 2 October 2019. Women's soccer league kicks off in post-Bashir Sudan. Reuters. 3 October 2019. 5 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191005083302/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-football-women/womens-football-league-kicks-off-in-post-bashir-sudan-idUSKBN1WH23S. live.
  27. Web site: Women's Ranking. 28 August 2021. origin1904-p.cxm.fifa.com. en.
  28. Web site: 24 August 2021. Arab Women's Cup 2021 set to kick off in Cairo. 28 August 2021. Arab News. en. 26 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220726203540/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1916401/sport. live.

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