From war to AFCON: Sudanese players bring hope

When Sudan player Ammar Taifour first heard gunfire outside his hotel room, he shrugged it off and went back to sleep. He had a soccer match to play.

But hours later, gunfire erupted again and gunmen surrounded the hotel in Omdurman, central Sudan, trying to seize control of the area. Taifour, a 28-year-old American-Sudanese midfielder, didn’t realize the shots marked the beginning a brutal war that would claim tens of thousands of lives…