Ideas for a Sudan Themed Football Party
Football - along with athletics - is the most popular sport in Sudan, and although the national team does not have a huge record of successful trophy wins, they do have a relatively long history,
being one of the first African nations with its own football team, founding the oldest league competition in Africa, and hosting the first
African Cup of Nations
tournament in 1956.
Hospitality is very important in Sudanese culture. If a guest is invited for dinner there are a number of formal stages/processes/courses which are usually followed, including a hand-washing ritual
before the meal.
Sudanese Party Decorations
Decorate yourself and your room with Sudan shirts, flags and scarves (see links, right).
If you're serving food, search for red or white table covers, napkins, plates, cups and
cutlery on our general
Football Party Decorations Page
For bunting, flags, balloons and more
Sudan Party Decorations Ideas,
visit our
African Football Party Decorations Page
As for colour schemes, in addition to the above ideas, anything else you can find in red and white will help create the right atmosphere.
Food for a Sudan Themed Party
Lamb and chicken are the meats that are most often eaten. A wide variety of vegetables are grown, of which okra is one of the most popular. Rice and breads are served with most
meals. Fresh fruit, cut into slices, is frequently served as a dessert - creme caramel is very popular, as are some cakes and pastries. Further ideas for a
Sudanese dinner party
can be found under "Theming Your Sudanese Party" (below).
Try some of these next time Sudan are playing:
Sudanese Lentil Soup
Sudanese-style Rice
Jeerjeer Salata - Sudanese-style Salad
Dama be Potaatas - Sudanese Beef & Potato Stew
Maschi - Sudanese Tomatoes Stuffed with Beef
Bishbosa - Sudanese Semolina Cake
Drink for a Sudan Themed Party
Sudan is a strictly Muslim country, and alcohol is banned. The most suitable drinks for an "authentic"
Sudanese party are therefore fruit juices, coffee (which is served black, thick and strong, sometimes flavoured with cardamom),
or tea (which is usually served sweet and black, and sometimes flavoured with cinnamon).
Hibiscus Tea
is a
delicious alternative.
While alcohol is strictly illegal in the Muslim north, locally brewed alcohol is available - although illegal - in parts of the south of the country. The local beer is brewed from sorghum
or millet and is apparently cloudy and sour. Aragi is a spirit distilled from sorghum or dates. It is apparently powerful stuff and sometimes contaminated with methanol or embalming fluid(!),
so the fact that Sudanese alcohol is illegal within the country and rarely exported outside it is probably a good thing! So for your Sudan themed party we'd recommend either sticking to
fruit juice, tea or coffee, or just buying you favourite wine or beer that you would usually drink!
Theming Your Sudanese Party
If you want to deck out your room with Sudanese-style fabrics rather than
Sudanese flags
,
see if you can find an African market or fabric supplier in a town or city near where you live. Sudanese fabrics often feature bold patterns and "earthy" colours such as yellows, golds,
yellowy greens, oranges, browns and blacks.
For a Sudanese meal, it would be normal to sit the guests on cushions on the floor around a low wooden table with no cover or cloth. On arrival guests would be offered fruit juice (often
a cocktail of several fruit juices combined together) before sitting down to eat. Guests are then offered large cloths to cover their knees and laps, rather than small wetsern-style napkins.
Soup is served first, brought to the table in individual bowls. Once this is finished, the main course is served. The main dish, rice and any vegetable accompaniements are brought to the table in large
serving dishes, from which the guests help themselves. Salad and Shata - a hot spicy condiment - are served in individaual bowls for each guest. The advantage of serving the
shata in individual bowls is that it allows each guest to add as little or as much as they like to their meal. After the main course and any dessert have been cleared away, tea or coffee is usually served,
and Sandalwood Incense Sticks
are lit to create a relaxing atmosphere after the meal.
With thanks to the website "africa.upenn.edu/Cookbook/Sudan" for much of the above information.
