When Sudan secured qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), all eyes were on the work done by their head coach Kwesi Appiah.
How have Ghanaians defied the odds with the nation engulfed in a 20-month civil war?
Reflecting on an extraordinary campaign, Appiah told BBC Sport Africa, “Qualifying for the Afcon was one of the goals I set for myself before I signed the contract, so I had it in my heart to achieve it.”
“Another reason I signed was for the people of Sudan, because of the war in their country. The players have shown a lot of dedication.
“Who knows, maybe through football the war can also end. And that was something that made me happy.”
since the conflict Started in April last year, Sudan’s players – many of whom are personally affected – have no permanent base.
The domestic league has been suspended and domestic qualifiers have been played in Libya and neighboring South Sudan.
Amid such challenging circumstances, 64-year-old Appiah says psychology is important.
“I believe it is a case of mentally training your players to make them feel like they are (Lionel) Messi or (Cristiano) Ronaldo. [so that] Whatever sport they go into, they don’t feel limited,” he explained.
“Wherever you go, that place is our home. Whether we have supporters or not, go out and play for your family, for yourself and for the country.”
“This is something people can do to help change the war in Sudan – or stop the war – by trying to qualify for Afcon or the World Cup.
“At least I’ve given them something to look forward to and then fight for.”
Football ‘key to unlocking war’
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia has forced more than 11 million people to flee their homes.
Aid workers say it has made The world’s worst humanitarian crisis – and Appiah has had to watch some of his players suffer personal tragedies.
“I know how loving the Sudanese people are,” he said, adding that four players lost close family members during the camp.
“It’s a really sad situation, but they try to deal with it. All the players will console and encourage them. It’s not easy.”
“We face all these traumas, but you try to cope.”
They need just one point to reach the last two qualifiers Next year’s AFCON finals, Sudan faced Niger in their final match, but lost 4–0.
“It was really a situation we never expected,” Appiah said.
“Whenever such situations arise, you should leave the game behind.
“I never talk about it because it’s past. You learn from it and then move on.”
At the final hurdle, Appiah’s men made no mistakes in Benghazi and held group winners Angola to a 0–0 draw. To achieve what many thought was impossible.
“After qualifying we went to the Sudanese embassy, and the ambassador said ‘Everyone [in Sudan] Their guns were down, and they were all out in the streets cheerin’, which is not normal because once you get down to the streets, you’re looking around [to see] Is the gun coming,” Appiah said.
“This is something I always tell the players before any match.
“Look at your relatives who are at home, what they are doing, and let’s bring some smiles to their faces.
“Football is one of the keys that can unlock such wars.”
world cup dreams
For Sudanese players, a historic first qualification for the FIFA World Cup is also a possibility.
After four rounds of preliminary rounds for the 2026 tournament, Djeden’s Falcons top the six-team group, which also includes Senegal and DR Congo.
The campaign will resume in March, and Appiah believes self-confidence is his key weapon.
“Look at the best teams in the world – Spain, England, Germany or Brazil,” he said.
“I tell [the players]: ‘How can you aim to go to the World Cup if you don’t put yourself at their level?’
One of the most heart-touching moments of their World Cup qualifying campaign so far came in June when they played neighbors South Sudan – a country with which it was once at war.
large portion of Juba crowd Joined in with the national anthem of Sudan Before the match, which Sudan won 3–0.
Appiah says this brought “a lot of unity” to the two countries.
‘Ghana is like England’
While domestic war has been the backdrop to Sudan’s AFCON 2025 qualification, Appiah’s results against his native Ghana have also made headlines.
Accra and then Sudan held Black Stars to 0-0 draw Beat West Africans 2-0 in Benghazi – a result which saw Ghana unexpectedly fail to qualify for the Nations Cup for the first time in 20 years.
“It’s really unfortunate because everyone thought Ghana would qualify,” Appiah said.
“In 2014, I was taking Ghana to the World Cup in Brazil, and I made a statement that football was maturing.
“The whole FA needs to sit down and analyze and examine what is really going on.”
Appiah says that he wanted both Sudan and Ghana to reach the tournament in Morocco, but his focus was solely on Sudan.
“I was an executive member of the Ghana FA and when Ghana joined our group, I was asked to step down because of conflict of interest, and I did.
“Once you become professional, you look at where you are working. If Ghana is not rising to the occasion, there is nothing I can do.
“I have to be 100% professional and ensure that the country I am coaching in is qualified [for] “Either Afcon or the World Cup.”
Appiah also has some sympathy for current Ghana head coach Otto Addo.
“Ghana is like England. If England don’t qualify for Europe or the World Cup, that’s a big, big issue,” he said.
“Once you get that job, you have to put pressure on it too. It’s a big, big, big deal for Ghana not to go to AFCON.”
