Sudan's national football team represents one of Africa's oldest footballing nations, playing their home matches in Khartoum, the country's capital. Sudan holds a foundational place in African football history: the very first Africa Cup of Nations was hosted on Sudanese soil in 1957, making Sudan one of the founding members of continental football competition. Though the hosts did not win that inaugural tournament — Egypt claimed the title — Sudan's role in launching African football at the international level remains a point of enduring pride.
Sudan's greatest continental achievement came in 1970, when they won the Africa Cup of Nations, defeating Ghana in the final. That triumph stands as the team's most celebrated moment and their only AFCON title to date. The squad of that era represented the peak of Sudanese football, drawing on strong domestic club culture centred on powerhouses such as Al-Hilal and Merrikh, the two clubs that have long defined football passion in the country.
In the decades that followed, Sudan experienced mixed fortunes on the continental stage, qualifying for AFCON periodically but rarely advancing deep into the knockout rounds. The domestic scene continued to thrive, with Al-Hilal (Omdurman) and Merrikh emerging as Sudan's most successful clubs both nationally and in African club competitions, and their fierce rivalry mirroring the passion Sudanese fans bring to the national team.
In the current decade, Sudan has worked to re-establish itself as a consistent qualifier for continental tournaments, competing in CAF's qualification cycles while nurturing the next generation of players. The team's identity is rooted in its historic role as a founder of African football and the memory of its 1970 AFCON triumph.