Egyptian Fans For Sudan

On November 2, Egypt and Africa's biggest club al-Ahly was facing off against Al-Masry in a game in Egypt's premier football division. The headline wasn't the game but the chant the al-ahly fans could be heard singing int he stands:

"All eyes on Sudan! Everyone is scared! They are all cowards!"

Indeed few have spoken about the world's worst humanitarian crisis for over 2.5 years in Sudan. Even now, as the UAE-funded RSF are live streaming their massac**** in Darfur, few have found the courage to speak truth to power.

Egypt's fans have a long history of political activism, most notably in their direct participation in the 25th January revolution, a people-led movement where they played a pivotal role in not only chanting anti-government slogans but also coordinating the actual protests on the streets of Tahrir and beyond. Fans from Egypt's two biggest teams al-Ahly and Zamalek both paid a heavy price for their dissent in the years following the revolution, being persecuted imprisoned and in some cases k*lled.

In North Africa more widely, the stands have long been spaces for the youth to express their dissent against government inaction, and corruption, as well as their solidarity with causes such as Palestine or Sudan. Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian teams have been some of the most vocal outfits globally when it comes to Palestine for example.

The question is if such chants will echo across more stadiums and if the Sudanese flag will be raised high by activists all over the world just like they did for Palestine? or are we truly living in a world that is willing to sit and watch the live kill*** of thousands of innocent Sudanese in cowardice to not spoilt their next vacation in Dubai?