In the mainly Christian southern part of Sudan in 2006, the local government indicated their support of women's football, and a competition with teams from all the ten states of modern-day South Sudan was organized in the southern region’s capital, Juba. Following the independence of South Sudan in 2011, a women's national football team was created the same year. Further and responding to the interest in women's football matches in Arab-speaking countries, the rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup were bought by Al Jazeera.