Nile tourney has been disappointing for Sudan

By Gilbert Wandera

Before the Nile Basin tournament kicked off in Egypt last week, three teams were favourites to lift the trophy.

They included hosts Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, given their rich football tradition and superb organisation.

However, after three days of matches only Egypt and Congo made it through to the last four and Sudan had a teary exit from the main competition.

Coach Mohamed Mazda wept after the second match, which his side lost 2-1 to the Democratic Republic of Congo proof that the loss was very painful.

There is a huge Sudanese community in Egypt and they have turned out in large numbers to support their team during the preliminary matches, but have always left disappointed.

Apart from the huge Sudanese community in Cairo, the country’s media has shown fanatical support for the team and more than 30 journalists from Khartoum are here to cover the tournament.

All manner of accusations have been levelled on the team for the poor show in the two-week event.

Musaab Sid Ahmed a journalist with Sada Newspaper says, poor fielding and lack of vision by the Sudan Football Association is to blame for the poor performance.

"While the coach had the best players, he preferred not to field those who were ready and fit for the matches," he said.

Ahmed said over-reliance on players from El-Mereikh and Al-Hilal, the country’s top two clubs is also affecting the team and suggested that the coach ought to have widened his selection.

"The team may also have been affected by the fact that they did not have enough time to train. This competition came after the end of a long holiday for the players.

"We hope the coach has learnt from his mistakes and he can rectify the same before we host the Africa Nations Championships next month. The FA must also build the youth system to feed the main team," he suggested.

Mayassar Mazjob a sports journalist with the daily Al Zaeem said the team had underperformed and lacked the players to lift them up.

"They created chances but could not score enough".