Al Hilal Club (Omdurman)
Association football club in Sudan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al Hilal Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الهلال), known as Al Hilal SC or simply Al Hilal, is a Sudanese professional football club based in Omdurman that competes in the Sudan Premier League. The club currently competes in the Rwanda Premier League, the top-flight of football in Rwanda, due to the ongoing Sudanese civil war.
_logo.png){kind=logo}
Al-Mawj Al-Azraq (The Blue Wave)
Nadi Al-Haraka Al-Wataniya (National Movement Club)
Nadi Al-Shaab (People's Club)
| ||||
| Full name | Al Hilal Sports Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Seed Al-Balad (The Leader of the Country) Al-Mawj Al-Azraq (The Blue Wave) Nadi Al-Haraka Al-Wataniya (National Movement Club) Nadi Al-Shaab (People's Club) | |||
| Founded | 13 February 1930 | |||
| Ground | Al-Hilal Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 25,000 | |||
| Chairman | Hesham Hassan Al-Subat | |||
| Manager | Josef Zinnbauer | |||
| League | Rwanda Premier League (temporarily) | |||
| 2024–25 | Super D1, 1st out of 16 (ineligible) | |||
| Website | alhilalsc | |||
|
| ||||
History
Al Hilal was founded on 13 February 1930 in Omdurman by a group of graduates from the Gordon Memorial College. During the Anglo-Egyptian rule of Sudan, colonial authorities strictly prohibited political gatherings. Consequently, nationalist youths utilized the formation of sports clubs as a legal framework for social organization and community mobilization.[1] The club's first administrative board was headed by Babiker Al-Qabbani.
In its early decades, the club introduced several administrative precedents in Sudanese sports. In 1932, Al Hilal became the first club in the country to charge admission fees for a football match during a friendly against a British military team, using the revenue to develop its facilities.[2]
Historically, Al Hilal has been the most successful team in the Sudan Premier League, accumulating 31 national titles.[3] Following the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war in 2023, domestic football competitions were suspended. To maintain competitive activity, the club received authorization from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to participate in foreign leagues. Al Hilal subsequently joined the Super D1 in Mauritania for the 2024–25 season, winning the championship, and later relocated to compete in the Rwanda Premier League for the 2025–26 season.[4]
Crest, colours and structure
The name Hilal translates to "crescent" in Arabic, a motif that is centrally featured on the club's crest alongside a map of Sudan. The official colours are blue and white. The club's motto is "Allah – Al-Watan – Al-Hilal" (God – The Nation – Al-Hilal).
The team plays its home matches at Al-Hilal Stadium in Omdurman, commonly referred to as "The Blue Jewel". The stadium was originally inaugurated in 1965 and underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2018, expanding its capacity to 65,000 spectators.[5] The club's wider infrastructure also includes departments for basketball, boxing, and swimming.
Rivalries
Al Hilal's primary traditional rival is Al-Merreikh, also based in Omdurman. The fixture between the two clubs is known as the Omdurman Derby and is the most prominent football rivalry in Sudan, strictly dividing the country's fan base.[6]
In continental competitions, Al Hilal frequently encounters North and Central African teams such as Al Ahly, ES Tunis, and TP Mazembe. Matches against Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League have occasionally resulted in crowd disturbances and diplomatic tension between Egyptian and Sudanese supporters, leading to formal disciplinary interventions and fines applied by CAF.[7]
Captain history
Amin Babeker- Muhamed Hussein Sharfi
- Hasan Mabrouk
- Abdelaal Hussein
- Hashem Deifallah
- Saleh Rajab
- Yousef Abdelaziz
- Awad Ahmed
- Muhamed Talaat Fareed
- Alnour Balla
- Abdelkheir Saleh
Zaki Saleh- Siddiq Manzul
- Osman Al-Deim (1963–1964)
- Sabit Dudu (1964–1967)
- Ebrahim Yahia Al-Kawarti (1967–1970)
Amin Zaki (1970–1971)- Muhieldin Al-Deim (1971–1974)
- Nasr El-Din Abbas (1974–1977)
- Ali Gagarin (1977–1980)
- Ezzeldin Al-Dehish (1978–1981)
- Abdallah Musa (1980)
- Gasem Ahmed Osman (1981)
- Mustafa Al-Nager (1982–1986)
- Mustafa Seimawi (1986)
- Tareg Ahmed Adam (1987–1993)
- Mansour Tenga (1993–1996)
- Jamal Al-Thaalab (1996–1997)
- Akef Ataa (1998)
- Mustafa Komi (1999)
- Muhamed Hamdan (2000–2001)
- Hemed Kamal (2002–2003)
- Haitham Mustafa (2004–2012)
- Omer Bakhit (2013–2014)
- Seif Mesawi (2015–2016)
- Mudather Karika (2017–2018)
- Mohamed Ahmed Bashir (2018–2019)
- Abdellatif Boya (2019–2021)
- Muhamed Abdelrahman (2022–present)
Players
- As of 30 July 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Honours
| Type | competition | titles | seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Sudan League / Sudan Premier League | 31 | 1965, 1966, 1969, 1973, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2024–25 |
| Sudan Cup | 10 | 1954, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2021–22, 2024–25 | |
| Khartoum League | 16 | 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1990, 1994 | |
Performance in CAF competitions
- CAF Champions League 40 Appearances
|
|
- CAF Confederation Cup 6 Appearances
- 2004 - Group stage
- 2006 - Play-off round
- 2010 - Semi-finals
- 2012 - Semi-finals
- 2018 - Group stage
- 2018-19 - Quarter-finals
- African Cup Winners' Cup 4 Appearances
- 1978 - First round
- 1994 - First round
- 2001 - First round
- 2003 - Second round
- CAF Cup 2 Appearances
- 1998 - Quarter-finals
- 2002 - First round
Performance in Arab competitions
- Arab Champions League 11 Appearances
- 1993 - Group stage
- 1995 - Group stage
- 1996 - Group stage
- 1999 - Preliminary round
- 2000 - Group stage
- 2003-04 - First round
- 2005-06 - Semi-finals
- 2007-08 -First round
- 2008-09 - Second round
- 2019-20 - First round
- 2023 - Second round
- Arab Cup Winners' Cup 2 Appearances
- 1989 - Semi-finals
- 2001 - Finalist
Performance in CECAFA competitions
- CECAFA Clubs Cup 11 Appearances
- 1985 - Group stage
- 1987 - Group stage
- 1988 - 3rd Place
- 1989 - Group stage
- 1992 - Group stage
- 1994 - Semi-finals
- 1996 - Group stage
- 1999 - Quarter-finals
- 2024 - 3rd Place
- 2025 - Finalist
- 2026 - 3rd Place