Algeria women footballers 'powerless' in Sudan after coup delays return home
- Published
Protestors took to the streets in Khartoum after Monday's coup
Algeria's women's national side say they are "powerless" in a Khartoum hotel as they wait to leave Sudan following Monday's coup in the country.
The Algerians were scheduled to play a qualifier for next year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Omdurman on Tuesday.
However, the game was postponed after Sudan's military dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) confirmed the match would be rescheduled "in view of the current political situation".
"Caf is closely monitoring the situation and working towards getting the visiting team and match officials to fly back to their respective countries," African football's ruling body said in a statement. , external
The Algeria squad remain confined to their hotel in the capital, but Khartoum International Airport is expected to reopen on Wednesday at 14:00 GMT
"We are locked in a hotel, powerless, without knowing when we can go home," goalkeeper Chloe N'Gazi said on Instagram on Tuesday night.
"The only information we have is from Twitter or images on Sudanese television."
N'Gazi and team-mates had previously posted pictures on social media from beside a hotel pool.
Algeria midfielder Myriam Benlazar posted a picture of the hotel pool on Instagram
"A coup d'état has never been easy to live through, even at the edge of a swimming pool under 38 degrees," she added.
"We try to occupy ourselves as we can. Our thoughts go to the Sudanese people."
Algeria's women, who have a 14-0 lead from the first leg, are the second African team to be caught up in a coup in as many months after Morocco's men's side had to be evacuated from Guinea last month in similar circumstances.
Super Falcons through despite loss to rivals
On the pitch, defending champions Nigeria reached the second round of Nations Cup qualifying despite suffering a 1-0 defeat in Ghana.
Princella Adubea put Ghana ahead in Accra three minutes after the break on Sunday, but the Black Queens had captain Portia Boakye sent off just after the hour mark for a second bookable offence.
Nigeria, who have won the Nations Cup a record nine times, were also reduced to 10 when Glory Ogbonna was shown red following a late challenge.
Yet the Super Falcons survived a nervy finish to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
Elsewhere, Ivory Coast thrashed Niger 11-0 to go through 20-0 on aggregate and set up a second-round tie against Nigeria and Kenya also registered a big win, beating South Sudan 7-1 to complete an overall 15-1 triumph.
On Tuesday, South Africa completed a 13-0 aggregate win over Mozambique while Zambia and Zimbabwe won their ties against Malawi and Eswatini respectively.
Uganda beat Ethiopia on penalties after the Crested Cranes lost the away leg 2-0 to draw 2-2 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Togo have been handed a bye to the second round after opponents Sao Tome withdrew after losing the first leg of their tie 5-0 on Friday.
Djibouti are already in the second round after Rwanda also withdrew, while Equatorial Guinea were given a walkover when DR Congo failed to turn up for the first leg.
The second round of qualifying, which will be held in February, will decide the 11 nations joining hosts Morocco at next year's finals.
Women's Nations Cup first round qualifying results
Tanzania 2-3 Namibia (3-5 agg)
South Sudan 1-7 Kenya (1-15 agg)
Cameroon 2-0 Central African Republic (3-0 agg)
Ghana 1-0 Nigeria (1-2 agg)
Benin 1-3 Burkina Faso (2-5 agg)
The Gambia 1-1 Sierra Leone (3-1 agg)
Guinea 0-2 Mali (2-4 agg)
Ivory Coast 11-0 Niger (20-0 agg)
Ethiopia 2-0 Uganda (2-2 agg - Uganda win 2-1 on penalties)
Zambia 3-2 Malawi (4-3 agg)
Eswatini 0-3 Zimbabwe (1-6 agg)
South Africa 6-0 Mozambique (13-0 agg)
Botswana 2-0 Angola (7-1 agg)
Burundi 1-0 Eritrea (6-0 agg)
Tunisia 1-0 Egypt (7-2 agg)
Gabon 1-0 Congo (2-2 agg - Gabon win on away goals)
Senegal 6-0 Liberia (8-1 agg)
Mauritania 0-1 Guinea-Bissau (0-2 agg)