Football Love: Sudan’s first female football coach

Salma al-Majidi is the first FIFA-recognised Arab woman to coach men’s football in Sudan and an increasingly familiar presence in football there.

She started assistant coaching in her teens and later teamed up with retired national player Ahmed Yakini, who now works as Salma’s assistant coach.

Salma shares the story of her passion for football and the challenges she has overcome. Threading through is the story of Salma and Ahmed’s other great love – for each other.

Alsanosi Adam is an award-winning Sudanese filmmaker, journalist and radio producer. He has made more than a dozen short films across Sudan, an acclaimed short documentary, Losing Oakland, in the United States, several long-running radio programmes about peace-building, and Fishing Wood for Africa Direct.