AFCON 2025: James Kwesi Appiah, the architect of Sudan's revival

 


In Sudan, James Kwesi Appiah has become a hero. First, because he qualified the country by eliminating Ghana, his own country. Secondly, because he is doing a masterful job, despite the war that has been raging in the country since April 2023. This conflict has even led to an unprecedented situation: the country's two leading clubs, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, now play in the Mauritanian league.

Despite this difficult context, he does everything he can to make his players aware of their mission: to bring joy. 

“I always remind them: you are the ones who can bring smiles to your people. Even when the fighting continues, when we play, sometimes the guns fall silent for a week or two,” 

he recently told the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

An experienced coach

James Kwesi Appiah took charge of Sudan in 2023 and quickly made his mark. Thanks to him, the Sudanese team, which had been fragile and vulnerable, became more structured. This compactness not only secured qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but also an extraordinary run in the 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN), where Sudan finished fourth, beaten on penalties by Senegal in the third-place play-off.

Before taking the reins of Sudan, Appiah had already coached Ghana twice. First in 2010 as interim coach (four games, one win, two draws, one loss); then between 2012 and 2014 (34 games), and again between 2017 and 2019 (20 games). His only AFCON with the Black Stars was in 2019, when they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Tunisia.

A history of Ghana

James Kwesi Appiah knows African soccer so well because he traveled across Africa as a soccer player. His crowning achievement with Ghana came in 1982 in Libya, when the Black Stars won their fourth and final continental title.

In addition, James Kwesi Appiah was also the first black African to lead Ghana to a FIFA World Cup, in 2014, for the edition in Brazil. He was also assistant coach in 2010 when Ghana reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa, which was Africa's best performance at the World Cup before Morocco's in 2022 (semifinals).

With his rich experience as a player and now as a coach, James Kwesi Appiah, now 65, has the experience and character to change the fate of a team. Could he be the architect of the next surprise at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations? We will find out in a few days, with Sudan placed in Group E alongside Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea.