Al Hilal Sports Club (), known as Al Hilal SC or simply Al Hilal, is a Sudanese professional football club based in Omdurman that competes in the Sudan Premier League. The club currently competes in the Rwanda Premier League, the top-flight of football in Rwanda, due to the ongoing Sudanese civil war.
Al Hilal was founded on 13 February 1930 in Omdurman by a group of graduates from the Gordon Memorial College. During the Anglo-Egyptian rule of Sudan, colonial authorities strictly prohibited political gatherings. Consequently, nationalist youths utilized the formation of sports clubs as a legal framework for social organization and community mobilization. The club's first administrative board was headed by Babiker Al-Qabbani.
In its early decades, the club introduced several administrative precedents in Sudanese sports. In 1932, Al Hilal became the first club in the country to charge admission fees for a football match during a friendly against a British military team, using the revenue to develop its facilities.
Historically, Al Hilal has been the most successful team in the Sudan Premier League, accumulating 31 national titles. Following the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war in 2023, domestic football competitions were suspended. To maintain competitive activity, the club received authorization from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to participate in foreign leagues. Al Hilal subsequently joined the Super D1 in Mauritania for the 2024âÂÂ25 season, winning the championship, and later relocated to compete in the Rwanda Premier League for the 2025âÂÂ26 season.
The name Hilal translates to "crescent" in Arabic, a motif that is centrally featured on the club's crest alongside a map of Sudan. The official colours are blue and white. The club's motto is "Allah â Al-Watan â Al-Hilal" (God â The Nation â Al-Hilal).
The team plays its home matches at Al-Hilal Stadium in Omdurman, commonly referred to as "The Blue Jewel". The stadium was originally inaugurated in 1965 and underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2018, expanding its capacity to 65,000 spectators. The club's wider infrastructure also includes departments for basketball, boxing, and swimming.
Al Hilal's primary traditional rival is Al-Merreikh, also based in Omdurman. The fixture between the two clubs is known as the Omdurman Derby and is the most prominent football rivalry in Sudan, strictly dividing the country's fan base.
In continental competitions, Al Hilal frequently encounters North and Central African teams such as Al Ahly, ES Tunis, and TP Mazembe. Matches against Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League have occasionally resulted in crowd disturbances and diplomatic tension between Egyptian and Sudanese supporters, leading to formal disciplinary interventions and fines applied by CAF.
(on loan) Darnes FC (Until June 2026)