Al Siddik Haftar, one of the sons of eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has been named honorary president of Al Merreikh Club, one of the two big football clubs in Sudan. The announcement was made Monday during a press conference held at the club in Oumdourman in the presence of Al Siddik Haftar who had traveled to Khartoum by private plane. He donated two million dollars to the club. The Sudanese red club is facing administrative and financial difficulties and is unable to complete the rehabilitation of its stadium, which has been closed for several years.
Al Siddik Haftar ended the evening at another benefactor of Al Merreikh, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Hemedti, in Khartoum. Together they broke the fast. The number two of the Sudanese sovereign council and leader of the rapid intervention militias also knows the football club founded in 1927 well. He donated grass, seats, and electrical installations to the stadium being repaired. And it is the Al-Jonaid company run by Hemedti’s brother who is managing the work.
According to the newspaper, al-Soudani, the decision to appoint Al Siddik Haftar honorary president has divided the club’s board of directors. One of the members of this council confided to the newspaper that dismissing the former honorary president, as well as the appointment of the new president, was not voted on by the members of the council. Ayman Mbarak Abou Jbine, the president of the club says the opposite.
Sports and Politics Collide
The intrusion of politics into the world of sport, however, leaves one skeptical. These donations are not to everyone’s liking at Al Merreikh, with some fearing it will spill over to the club and football. Khalifa Haftar is Hemedti’s ally. The latter lent him a hand in 2019, sending him Sudanese mercenaries as reinforcements during the Tripoli war.
These men are still in Libya and are among many other mercenaries and foreign forces that the UN says threaten Libya’s stability. The international organization is trying to organize their return.