War-torn Sudan's prodigal premier league returns to cheers

4 days ago

'It's a wonderful feeling, it's indescribable, to see this beautiful return,' football fan Ahmed Taj said'We're so happy to see Al-Hilal come back, to see Sudanese football come back, after everything we've lost in the past two years'BERBER, Sudan: In the Sudanese town of Berber, hundreds of kilometers away from the frontlines of war, a modest stadium seems to shake with the roar of football fans jumping to their feet.'It's a wonderful feeling, it's indescribable, to see this beautiful return,' football fan Ahmed Taj told AFP from the sidelines of the penultimate league match between newly-crowned champions Al-Hilal and Hay Al-Wadi.'We're so happy to see Al-Hilal come back, to see Sudanese football come back, after everything we've lost in the past two years,' he added.Since April 2023, war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands and made Sudan the scene of the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis.But for a few hours each week in July, the country seemed to pause during match time, a welcome respite for a population buffeted between mass displacement, starvation and death.The first Sudan Elite League in two years was held in River Nile state, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) northeast of the war-ravaged capital Khartoum.In small stadiums in the cities of Atbara, Berber and Al-Damer, teams faced off on pitches streaked with massive brown patches as dozens of fans cheered from the bleachers.Despite Atbara's power stations and army bases coming under drone strikes — most recently last month — the area is still considered safer than Khartoum.The season reached its climax on Tuesday as the country's favorite teams — rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh — met in a title-deciding match-up.Al-Hilal claimed victory and finished top of the table, with second-placed Al-Merrikh also qualifying for the African Champions League.For Al-Hilal's celebrated captain and national team striker Mohamed Abdel Rahman, playing on Sudanese soil, even if not on his home turf in the capital, was thrilling.'We're so happy to be home, playing in front of our fans,' he told AFP on the pitch before kick-off in the crucial encounter with Hay Al-Wadi last Wednesday.Both Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh had been forced to compete abroad, participating in the Mauritanian league last season.Al-Hilal reached the quarter-finals of this year's African Champions League, cheered on from afar by street celebrations back home.'We're giving our all to make our fans happy, to offer some joy,' the forward added.But not everyone can go home.All but one of this year's eight competing teams — down from the usual 24 — are based in cities under army control.Hay Al-Wadi hail from the South Darfur state capital Nyala, under paramilitary control and regularly targeted by military air strikes.Sudan's vast western Darfur region has witnessed some of the war's worst violence, with entire displacement camps besieged, bombed and burned to the ground.For captain Jibril Mohamed Nour, the league has been bittersweet.'I can't even believe it... it's an indescribable feeling to play again,' the Darfur native told AFP before taking on Al-Hilal.'But we miss our fans, we miss our hometown, we can only hope we'll be able to go back soon.'Since the war began, his team has trained in Saudi Arabia, only returning weeks before the championship kicked off.Even with some of the players out of practice and facilities hardly top-tier, Sudanese football is on the rise, according to the league's only foreign coach, the Egyptian Shawky Gharib who helms Al-Merrikh.'The fans are here, the players are here... as long as we can play and there's a system in place, the infrastructure, everything can be fixed,' he told AFP.For his part, Sudan Football Association board member Mohamed Abdel Samee beams with pride that the association 'insisted on holding the championship.''As soon as it wraps, we're planning next season, when we hope every team will be able to play in their hometown.'Yet there is no end in sight to the war, and even in army-controlled areas millions suffer hunger and lack of services.

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England beat Spain on penalties in Women's Euro 2025 final

Arab News

3 hours ago

Arab News

England beat Spain on penalties in Women's Euro 2025 final

BASEL: England beat Spain 3-1 on penalties to win the Women's Euro 2025 and retain their title after Sunday's final had finished 1-1 at the end of extra time. Chloe Kelly scored the decisive kick in a shoot-out which saw three Spain players, including reigning Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati, all fail to convert. Mariona Caldentey had earlier headed Spain — who beat England 1-0 in the 2023 Women's World Cup final — into the lead at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, but Alessia Russo equalized early in the second half.

First-round pick Shemar Stewart has plenty of learning moments during his initial Bengals' practice

Al Arabiya

3 hours ago

Al Arabiya

First-round pick Shemar Stewart has plenty of learning moments during his initial Bengals' practice

One day after signing his rookie contract, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took the field for his first NFL practice on Sunday. While Stewart was the final Bengals draft pick to sign and criticized ownership while the negotiations were going on, coach Zac Taylor said that the organization can leave all of that contention in the past. 'That's part of being a professional,' Taylor said. 'Just put it behind you. He's a part of our team, so we support him every step of the way now. You just put all that stuff behind you.' Stewart missed three practices before signing his rookie deal, and he also didn't participate in any of the Bengals spring workouts. On Sunday, he went through some extra sets of drills with one-on-one instruction from defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, was a full participant in position drills, and then received about 10 reps in full-team drills against the first-team offense. 'I just needed to get on the field as soon as possible,' Stewart said. 'I needed to start learning, start getting better. There is a long season ahead. I needed to be ready.' He said that he didn't have any regrets about the negotiation process. Stewart also defended his agent, Zac Hiller. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin criticized Hiller last week by saying that Stewart was listening to the advice that he was paying for. Stewart said that he appreciated Hiller's approach in negotiations. Stewart's four-year deal is worth 18.97 million guaranteed, including a 10.4 million signing bonus. Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April's draft, and Hiller eventually agreed to the Bengals provision voiding future guarantees if there are any off-field incidents or conduct detrimental to the team. However, he received 500,000 more of his signing bonus now instead of later in the season. 'I want an agent that's more of a pit bull,' Stewart said. 'I don't want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that's going to war (for) me, so I don't have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well. That's my dog for life.' On the field, Stewart struggled with the heat as well as the new techniques from the Bengals coaching staff. At one point during practice, he poured water over his eyes only to find out that it was Gatorade. That stung his eyes, and he joked about it being a learning moment. During his first practice rep against offensive linemen, he got pushed back and spun around. That was another learning moment. 'Just get him out here and get him going with our fundamentals and with Jerry and all the things we're teaching,' Taylor said. 'Tomorrow we get the chance to put the pads on to get a chance to feel what that feels like again. It's just good to go full speed with him.' Stewart said that he hopes this week was a start of a long Bengals career, and he's focused on the long game now that his contract has been signed. 'It was never me versus anybody,' Stewart said. 'We just didn't see eye to eye. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be a Bengal. I'm happy that I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There's no bad blood. It's just how things go sometimes.'

Bijan Robinson is preparing for another busy season as falcons' do-it-all running back

Al Arabiya

4 hours ago

Al Arabiya

Bijan Robinson is preparing for another busy season as falcons' do-it-all running back

Michael Penix Jr. enters his first full season as Atlanta's starting quarterback with the good fortune of knowing Bijan Robinson has been both productive and durable as the focus of the Falcons offense at running back. Robinson was a do-it-all back for Atlanta in 2024, his second pro season. He ranked third in the league with 1456 yards rushing and third among all running backs with 61 catches. He tied for fifth with 14 rushing touchdowns and was fourth with 304 carries. While Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley was voted the NFL's top running back by The Associated Press entering the season, Robinson was included in the top five. Now after Penix made only three starts as a rookie to close last season, the Falcons can be expected to take advantage again of their strong running game with Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. 'You have to get him the rock,' Penix said at the start of training camp. 'It's simple as that. It doesn't matter how we do it. Somehow, some way, he's got to have the rock.' Robinson said he learned more about preparing for another busy season by working out with San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey in California this offseason. 'It was great,' Robinson said. 'Me and him just giving each other so many tips and feeding off knowledge from each other on the field. … We worked together the whole month. I got to see how he worked. He got to see how I worked. It was really cool, two guys coming together trying to make each other better. He taught me some nuance moves on the field and I did the same for him.' The challenge for coach Raheem Morris is to make the most of Robinson's production while not overextending his workload. 'You definitely want to protect that kind of unique athlete,' Morris said, adding that Robinson doesn't need a governor as an artificial cap on his number of carries. 'He's certainly one of those guys that can carry the load,' Morris said. 'Certainly one of the guys that has carried the load for us. And you could definitely do that. But we just happen to have some really good backs, you know? ... We have a luxury of having a guy like Tyler on our team.' Allgeier rushed for 1035 yards as a rookie in 2022 and averaged 4.7 yards per carry while rushing for 644 yards on a career-low 137 carries last season. There is an emphasis on creating opportunities to use Allgeier more this season. 'We've got to find ways to get Tyler on the field to find ways to feature him on the field,' Morris said. It wouldn't be a surprise to see more two-running back sets, perhaps with defenses having to monitor Robinson put in motion as a receiver while Allgeier remains lined up behind Penix. General manager Terry Fontenot said Sunday that Kirk Cousins has been the ultimate professional after losing his starting job to Penix last season and returning as a backup despite speculation the veteran could be traded. 'Outside, it's a lot more of a big deal than it is in the building,' Fontenot said of the questions about Cousins' status. 'He shows up. He does his job just like anybody. ... He's been a great professional. He's handled himself well.' Fontenot said backup quarterback Easton Stick, who worked out with wide receiver D.J. Chark in the offseason after the two were Los Angeles Chargers teammates last season, passed along a recommendation that the Falcons look at signing the veteran. Chark worked out at the Falcons facility on Friday and signed in time to have his first practice on Saturday. The timing was convenient as starter Darnell Mooney is expected to miss several weeks with a shoulder injury.