Sudan’s Al Hilal SC Wins Rwanda Top Football League Title
Far from home and displaced by a civil war that halted football in Sudan, Al Hilal SC completed one of the most unusual title-winning campaigns in African football history this week.
This Wednesday, the team become champions of Rwanda’s top-flight football league after a dominant season played entirely in exile.
The Sudanese club secured the 2025–26 BK Pro League title after spending the season competing in Rwanda under a special arrangement approved by the Rwanda Football Federation, which allowed three Sudanese clubs to join the league temporarily as conflict continued to engulf Sudan.
Al Hilal’s triumph was emphatic. The club collected roughly 70 points from 30 matches, scoring 69 goals while conceding only 20, according to league statistics.
They spent much of the season comfortably atop the standings, often separated from rivals by double-digit margins.
Their closest challengers frequently included another displaced Sudanese powerhouse, Al Merrikh SC, transplanting Sudan’s fiercest football rivalry onto Rwandan soil.
The win today was against a smaller competitor Gasogi United. Throughout the tournament, not even local giants, the military side APR FC, or widely popular Rayon Sports, could halt the advance of the Sudanese.
The 2026 title represents a remarkable continuation of Al Hilal’s resilience during one of Sudan’s darkest modern periods.
Since fighting erupted in Sudan in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, much of the country’s sporting infrastructure has been disrupted, forcing clubs and athletes into prolonged uncertainty.
In response, Rwanda agreed late last year to host three Sudanese clubs — Al Hilal, Al Merrikh and Al Ahli SC Wad Madani — allowing them to participate in the BK Pro League to maintain competitive football and preserve their continental standing.
The arrangement quickly altered the balance of Rwanda’s domestic competition.
Sudanese clubs, carrying deeper continental experience and stronger squads, emerged as dominant forces in the league.
Matches involving Al Hilal and Al Merrikh drew heightened attention, particularly among East African football audiences intrigued by the rare spectacle of foreign clubs competing in another country’s top division.
For Rwanda, the experiment brought unprecedented visibility to the league, which this season was rebranded as the BK Pro League after a major sponsorship agreement with Bank of Kigali, the country’s biggest lender.
Yet the season also required unusual regulatory compromises. Under rules established before the campaign began, Al Hilal could be crowned overall league champions but would not represent Rwanda in continental competition.
Instead, the highest-placed Rwandan club would be recognized as Rwanda’s national champion and receive qualification to the CAF Champions League.
That distinction is expected to fall to APR FC, Rwanda’s most decorated football club.
Al Hilal’s success nevertheless carries continental significance beyond the title itself. With championships previously won in Sudan and Mauritania, the club has now become the first team in African football history to win top-flight league titles in three different countries.
For many Sudanese supporters living far from home, the victory has become more than a sporting achievement. It has served as a rare symbol of continuity amid displacement, uncertainty and war.
