Hundreds gathered weekly at the East Nile Sudanese Wrestling Stadium to watch Nuba wrestling, a popular sport sought international recognition.
The Sudanese Wrestling Federation is reaching out to international organizations to gain international recognition for the sport through a recently updated rulebook to standardize the way tribes play it.
“We at the level of the Sudanese Wrestling Federation, after the establishment of the Federation in October of 2001, had to put laws governing this sport, laws that are common to all so that competitors at the level of sports, wrestling sport, always judge them,” said the president of the federation, Suleiman Kabo.
“Praise be to God, now the laws are clear, the laws are known to everyone, there must be a win, although we see some matches ending in a draw, but these matches are friendly matches, but when there is real competition, the competition that can qualify one to reach the stage of winning the gold medal, there must be a winner.”
Nuba wrestling is usually played in ceremonial matches marking the end of the harvest season and each tribe plays it differently. Capo explained that the need to standardize the rules of the game arose when tribal members moved to Khartoum and set up wrestling rings.
Since then, Nubian wrestling has become a popular sport in the rest of the country, attracting not only men but also women and children.
“We are working hard to have the Sudanese wrestling, with this big name Nuba wrestling, with this name that can give privacy, to be present hopefully at the level of Olympic sports in the near future, we are also currently working with the Olympic Committee and the International Federation, this issue needs a huge effort and a long time,” Capo added.
Nubian wrestling ritual
“We are going well to make wrestling a known sport, a sport practiced according to the clear law, as well as this law that we are now working on translating to raise it to the International Wrestling Federation so that this sport is considered a global sport,” Capo said.
The “Land of Light” festival was held on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7 in Khartoum and included many cultural activities, including wrestling, rowing in the Blue Nile and folk sword dancing, with the aim of showcasing Sudan’s heritage and culture.
