Beginning and an African giant (1946–1970) The
Sudan Football Association was founded in 1936 and thus it became one of the oldest football associations to exist in Africa. However, before the foundation of the Football Association, Sudan had started experiencing football brought to the country by the British colonizers since early 20th century via Egypt. Other Sudanese clubs founded at that time include
Al-Hilal Omdurman,
Al-Merrikh, which led to popularization of football in the country. The
Khartoum League became the first national league to be played in Sudan, laying ground for the future development of Sudanese football. Being experienced early with football, Sudan was quick to affiliate itself with
FIFA in 1948, and soon after, Sudanese officials were instrumental, along with Ethiopian, South African and Egyptian counterparts, forming the
Confederation of African Football in the Sudanese capital of
Khartoum in 1957. Following the establishment of CAF, Sudan participated in the
1957 African Cup of Nations, the first historic
Africa Cup of Nations which Sudan was host. The national team finished third, as South Africa was banned over
apartheid. During that early era, Sudan produced some of the finest players, most notably Mustafa Azhari, the captain of Sudan during this period;
Nasr El-Din Abbas, who became Sudan's top scorer in the country's football team;
Siddiq Manzul, who was an instrumental leader in Sudan's forward;
Ali Gagarin with his meteoric ability. Sudan then won the
1970 African Cup of Nations, their only African trophy up to date. After some losses and a draw to Mauritania, Sudan failed to qualify for the World Cup. == Kit supplier==