Al-Hilal or Al-Merrikh? Official decision from the appeals committee settles the identity of the Sudanese league champion
It held two meetings on 9 and 10 November
Al-Hilal have been officially crowned champions of the 2025/2026 Sudanese Premier League, following a decision issued by the Appeals Committee of the Sudanese Football Association on Tuesday.
The committee ruled to accept the club's review request and cancel the previous decision that had awarded the points of the top-of-the-table match to Al-Merrikh.
Al-Hilal had secured the title by beating Al-Merrikh. Their rivals then lodged an official protest, claiming that some of Al-Hilal's naturalised players had been fielded illegally.
After examining the case, the Appeals Committee declared Al-Hilal the losers of the top-of-the-table match and handed the title to Al-Merrikh.
Al-Hilal said in an official statement: "Our club reclaimed the Premier League title today, Tuesday, by a decision from the Appeals Committee of the Sudanese Football Association, which accepted the review request submitted by the club in both form and substance, and cancelled its previous decision ruling to transfer the points of the top-of-the-table match to Al-Merrikh Khartoum."
The statement continued: "The committee, chaired by Mawlana Mohamed Hamad Al-Bashir, head of the committee, with the membership of Mr Mohamed Issa, Dr Zuhair Abdulmalik, and Counsellor Al-Zain Al-Dukhairi as member and rapporteur, held two meetings on 9 and 10 November, and concluded, after reviewing the request and the attached documents, to adopt the result of the match as it appeared in the referee's report."
It added: "Under the decision, the title returned to the vaults of the Master of the Country, with the club continuing to affirm its standing as the most title-decorated club in Sudan."
