Sudan head coach, Kwesi Appiah, has revealed his commitment to qualifying the Falcons of Jediane for the 2026 World Cup after leading the side to book a spot in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
The 63-year-old coach, who signed a three-year contract with the Sudanese Football Association earlier this year, has successfully led the team to secure a spot in next year’s AFCON tournament, set to be held in Morocco, despite the ongoing civil unrest in Sudan.
In the current World Cup qualifying campaign, Sudan leads Group B with 10 points from four matches played.
After guiding Sudan to AFCON qualification, Appiah expressed his ambition to take the team to the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
“When I was appointed, I was not given any target but rather I was told to build a team within a period number of years but I told them that would be difficult due to the unrest and it is just two clubs who were playing in CAF competitions,” he told Asempa FM’s Ultimate Sports Show.
“Despite the unrest, I convinced them that I wanted to qualify for the AFCON and the World Cup and if only they could support me, we would achieve it and now we have qualified for the AFCON.”
Appiah also reflected on his time with the Sudanese team, mentioning that when he left Sudan in 2015, several players he coached at Al Khartoum were still part of the national squad, and they helped him reconnect with other players.
“When I left Sudan in 2015, five of the players I coached at Al Khartoum were still in the national team so I used them to help get in touch with other players and they helped me a lot,” he added.
He also commended the discipline of Sudanese players.
“Sudanese players are well-disciplined and they are always willing to do more so that helped me a lot. Even during the qualifiers, they always wanted to know if they were doing what was right or not.”
Sudan’s squad is made up entirely of players based in African clubs, many of whom play for domestic rivals Al Hilal and Al Merrikh. Due to Sudan’s political instability, both clubs are temporarily playing in Mauritania’s league.
The Falcons of Jediane will face Senegal and South Sudan in the fifth and sixth match days in March 2025.
