African Nations Cup 2012: The Rise of Sudan

The Nile Crocodiles of Sudan

As the 2012 Africa Nations Cup unfolds in Gabon & Equatorial Guinea, the Nile Crocodiles of Sudan have been winning many plaudits for their performances in the tournament so far. Despite winning the tournament in 1970, the Sudanese had lost their way for decades, and were now largely considered as minnows on the continent. They had not scored a goal at the Nations Cup since 1976 and their victory in 1970 seemed to be a distant memory. Sudanese football was being affected by various factors such as; chaos and political instability, a bloody civil war, corruption and a lack of organisation.

The Sudanese went into the tournament with a squad entirely made up of home-based players plying their trades in the Sudan Premier League. They kicked off their 2012 Nations Cup campaign against the Ivory Coast, widely considered as favourites to win the tournament, and equipped with a plethora of well known stars. The Ivorians were expected to hammer Sudan and put down a marker for the rest of the tournament, but it took a brilliant header form superstar Didier Drogba to seal a 1-0 victory over the Sudanese. Sudan then played out a 2-2 draw with Angola, twice coming from behind. Finally, they secured a 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso, a result which coupled with the Ivory Coast 2-0 victory over Angola, was enough for Sudan to reach the quarter-finals.

Mohamed Ahmed Bashir scored both goals against Angola

During the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers,the handwriting had been on the wall that the Sudanese are not pushovers as many had expected. They drew their opening game against a Ghana team that was already the toast of the continent, following their exploits at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Sudanese were good value for their 0-0 draw in Accra, and many expected their campaign to falter along the way. Nonetheless they matched the talented Black Stars all the way, and both teams were level on points going into the final qualifying match in Khartoum. The Black Stars of Ghana eventually won the game 2-0 booking their passage to the 2012 Nations Cup, but Sudan deservedly qualified as one of the best runners-up.

Striker Mudathir El Tahir scored both goals against Burkina Faso

Their success at the ongoing Nations Cup is the culmination of the organisation and hardwork of the Sudan Premier League. There has been an influx of players going to the Sudan Premier League during the last 6 years, and huge sums of money has been spent on the league with Sudanese clubs acquiring  talented players. One such acquisition was the signing of Nigeria's Stephen Worgu by Al Merreikh for a reported fee of $US2.6 million. The Sudanese had gone back to the basics and developed their national league, where talented players can be identified thereby benefiting the national team. They have qualified for two of the last three Nations Cup competitions, and they are through to the quarter-finals of the ongoing tournament, where they will face Zambia.

Nigerian Stephen Worgu was signed by Sudan's Al Merreikh for $US 2.6 million

Sudan is not the only country reaping the rewards of investing in the national league, Egypt, winners of the last 3 Nations Cup (2006, 2008 & 2010), had a squad largely made up of home-based players and brushed aside the likes of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria & Cameroon, countries equipped with well-known European based players. Surely there is wisdom in developing one's national league, and giving local players a competent platform to play, rather than depending on European scouts and European clubs to develop African players. Regardless of the out come of their quarterfinals, the Sudanese have had a successful tournament, and one can only hope that other struggling nations will try and emulate them by investing in national leagues and producing enough home-grown players.