Somalia national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Women's football in Somalia.

Somalia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Ocean Stars
AssociationXiriirka Soomaaliyeed ee Kubbadda Cagta
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCECAFA
(Central & East Africa)
Head coachina jamac
CaptainAhmed Said Ahmed
Most capsYasin Ali Egal (19)
Top scorerAbdullahi Sheikh Mohamed (3)
Home stadiumMogadishu Stadium
FIFA codeSOM
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 199 Decrease 1 (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest65 (April–June 1996)
Lowest203 (April–May 2019)
First international
 Kenya 5–1 Somalia
(Mombasa, Kenya; 1958)[2]
Biggest win
 Somalia 5–2 Mauritania 
(Casablanca, Morocco; 7 August 1985)
Biggest defeat
 North Korea 14–0 Somalia 
(Jakarta, Indonesia; 14 November 1963)
CECAFA Cup
Appearances26 (first in 1973)
Best result5th
Arab Games
Appearances1 (first in 1985)
Best result7th

The Somalia national football team (Somali: Kooxda Qaranka Soomaaliya, Arabic: الإتِّحَاد الصُّومَالِي لِكُرَّةُ الْقَدَم), nicknamed the Ocean Stars, represents Somalia in international football and is controlled by the Somali Football Federation (SFF), a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Somalia's first national team captain was Mohamed Shangole, while its longest serving captain has been Hasan Babay.

History[edit]

The first Somali football teams were established in the 1940s. The competitions were basic in structure and were associated with the anti-colonial movement. The Somali Youth League (SYL), the nation's first political party, had put together a team of local youth to play against the Italian expatriate teams. The soccer team the FYL had assembled, which would later change its name to Bondhere, won the first several competitions. In 1951, the Somali Football Federation (SFF) was founded. The first Somali commissioner for sport was later established in 1958.

Although the Somali national football team took part in preliminary matches, it has never qualified for the World Cup. For many years after the outbreak of the civil war in the early 1990s, FIFA-sanctioned games could not be played within the country. Qualifying matches for the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup were instead contested away from home. However, following the pacification of the capital Mogadishu in 2011, the SFF began preparations for the first major sporting event to be held in years at the Mogadishu Stadium, in December 2012.

Prior to 2019, the Somali FA decided they would admit to all their young and upcoming youth talents and put out local trials to fortify both Olympic and national football teams.

In addition, many from the Somali diaspora in the past have produced quality football players such as Islam Feruz and Mukhtar Ali.

On 5 September 2019, Somalia won their first qualifying match since 1984 (against Kenya - AFCON Qualifying) and their first-ever FIFA World Cup qualifying match, beating Zimbabwe by 1–0.[4] They nearly advanced to the second round but lost 3–1 in Zimbabwe after two late goals for the warriors, consigning the Ocean Stars to an early exit.

Team image[edit]

Kits and crest[edit]

Kit provider Period
Germany Adidas 2015–2021
Somalia A2Z Sports 2021–present

From the 1970s up until the 1990s, the Somali national football team used to wear solid sky blue shirts and socks with white shorts for home kits and the inverse as away kits,[5] the two primary colours of the Somali national flags, in the 2010s up until the present, the national team have now replaced the solid sky blue shirts for vertically blue and white striped shirts.

The crest of the Somali national team used to be the coat of arms of Somalia but it is now replaced with the Somali Federation crest. The Ocean Stars plays their home games in the Mogadishu Stadium, (As the stadium was being rebuilt, the national team played matches at Engineer Yaarisow Stadium, which is Mogadishu's secondary stadium for sporting events).

Somalia's first colours in the 1970s–1990s
Somalia's second colours in the 1970s–1990s

Results and fixtures[edit]

Main article: Somalia national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023[edit]

14 October Friendly Somalia  0–3  Niger Berrechid, Morocco
16:30 UTC+1
Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium
17 October Friendly Somalia  0–2  Sierra Leone Berrechid, Morocco
19:30 UTC+1 Turay 26' (pen.), 59' Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium
19 October Friendly Somalia  0–0  Libya Khouribga, Morocco
19:00 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Phosphate Stadium
16 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Algeria  3–1  Somalia Algiers, Algeria
18:00 UTC+1 Abdi 2' (o.g.)
Bounedjah 31'
Slimani 80'		 Report Ahmed 65' Stadium: Nelson Mandela Stadium
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali)
21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Somalia  0–1  Uganda Berkane, Morocco
14:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade Municipal de Berkane
Attendance: 200
Referee: Pedro Ndong Ovono Obono (Equatorial Guinea)

2024[edit]

20 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Somalia  0–3  Eswatini
Figuareido 40'
Ginindza 45', 56'
26 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Eswatini  2–2
(5–2 agg.)		  Somalia
Note: Eswatini won 5–2 on aggregate.

Coaches[edit]

Head coach Charles Livingstone Mbabazi, having talks with the players during a training session.
The national team doing drills as part of preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Name Nat Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Win rate
Qi Wusheng China 1978–1979
Klaus Ebbighausen West Germany 1980
Hussein Ali Abdulle Somalia May 1999 – Dec 2000 8 0 1 7 6.3%
Awil Ismail Mohamed Somalia Nov 2001 – Dec 2002 7 1 2 4 28.6%
Ali Abdi Farah Somalia Oct 2003 – Dec 2005 9 1 0 8 11.1%
Daniel Muwathe Kenya Oct 2006 – Dec 2006 6 0 0 6 0%
Hussein Ali Abdulle Somalia Oct 2007 – Dec 2007 4 0 0 4 0%
Ali Abdi Farah Somalia Sept 2008 – Dec 2009 8 2 0 6 25%
Mohamed Farayare Somalia Jan 2010 – Mar 2010 2 1 0 1 50%
Yousef Adam Qatar Oct 2010 – Dec 2010 3 0 0 3 0%
Alfred Imonje Kenya Oct 2011 – Dec 2011 5 0 1 4 10%
Sam Ssimbwa Uganda Dec 2011 – Oct 2013 6 0 0 6 0%
Sam Ssimbwa Uganda Mar 2014 – Sept 2015 2 0 0 2 0%
Charles Mbabazi Uganda Sept 2015
Haruna Mawa Uganda Nov 2016 – Nov 2019
Bashir Hayford Ghana Mar 2019 – 2019 7 2 2 3 42.8%
Said Abdi Haibeh Somalia Dec 2019 – May 2021 4 1 2 1 25%
Abdellatif Salef Morocco May 2021 – June 2021 0 0 0 0 0%
Salad Farah Somalia June 2021 – February 2022 2 0 0 2 0%
Pieter de Jongh Netherlands February 2022 – May 2022 2 0 0 2 0%
Rachid Lousteque Morocco July 2022 – 2023 0 0 0 0 0%

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Algeria and Uganda on 16 and 21 November 2023, respectively.[6]

Caps and goals correct as of 21 November 2023, after the match against Uganda.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Mustaf Yuusuf (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 26) 15 0 Sweden IFK Berga
1GK Ibrahim Ahmed Hussein (2005-12-23) 23 December 2005 (age 18) 1 0 Somalia Waxool
1GK Ahmed Mayow Shariff (2002-02-08) 8 February 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Somalia Horseed
2DF Ahmed Banu Hirabe (1997-12-12) 12 December 1997 (age 26) 8 0 Somalia Horseed
2DF Saadiq Elmi (2000-11-11) 11 November 2000 (age 23) 6 0 Norway Moss
2DF Ayman Mohamed Hussein (2000-12-12) 12 December 2000 (age 23) 6 0 Somalia Horseed
2DF Abdi Mohamed (1996-10-25) 25 October 1996 (age 27) 5 0 United States Columbus Crew 2
2DF Abdiwali Abdirahman Mohamed (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Somalia Elman
2DF Isse Abdulkadir (1999-07-01) 1 July 1999 (age 24) 3 0 Somalia Elman
2DF Abdi Salim (2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 (age 23) 2 0 United States Orlando City
2DF Mohamud Ali 1 0 Somalia Horseed
2DF Ahmed Isse (2001-02-03) 3 February 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Spain Real Balompédica Linense
3MF Sak Hassan (2001-03-21) 21 March 2001 (age 23) 5 1 England Hashtag United
3MF Isse Ismail (1999-04-20) 20 April 1999 (age 24) 5 0 Sweden Haninge
3MF Omar Jama (1998-05-21) 21 May 1998 (age 25) 5 0 Finland JäPS
3MF Abdulkadir Sidow 2 0 Somalia Elman
3MF Haji Adan 1 0 Somalia Dekedaha
4FW Hussein Mohamed (1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 27) 11 0 Finland JäPS
4FW Farhan Mohamed Ahmed (2000-11-15) 15 November 2000 (age 23) 9 2 Somalia Horseed
4FW Mohamed Awad (1994-05-07) 7 May 1994 (age 29) 6 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
4FW Ibrahim Ilyas (2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Tanzania KMC
4FW Mahad Mohamed Abdulkadir (2001-08-19) 19 August 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Somalia Horseed
4FW Yusuf Ahmed (1997-04-24) 24 April 1997 (age 26) 3 1 Australia Avondale
4FW Issa Adim Abatari (2002-02-13) 13 February 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Somalia Mogadishu City
4FW Siad Haji (1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 24) 2 0 United States FC Tulsa

Recent call ups[edit]

The following players have also been called up to the Somalia squad within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
MF Haji Abdikadir (1998-10-15) 15 October 1998 (age 25) 3 0 Republic of Ireland Athlone Town v.  Libya; 19 October 2023
MF Muqtar Ahmed (2005-04-15) 15 April 2005 (age 19) 1 0 Switzerland Winterthur II v.  Libya; 19 October 2023
MF Abdi Sharif (2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23) 1 0 England Wigan Athletic v.  Libya; 19 October 2023
FW Bilal Njie (1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 (age 25) 2 0 Norway FK Haugesund v.  Libya; 19 October 2023

Player records[edit]

As of 21 November 2023[7]
Players in bold are still active with Somalia.

Most appearances[edit]

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Yasin Ali Egal 19 0 2003–2011
2 Mustaf Yuusuf 16 0 2015–present
3 Omar Ibrahim Abdulkadir [es] 14 0 2000–2007
4 Abubakar Nur Abdikarim 12 0 2011–2015
5 Mohamed Ali Abdiaziz 11 2 2006–2011
6 Cisse Aadan Abshir 10 1 2003–2011
Ahmed Said Ahmed 10 0 2019–present
Hussein Mohamed 10 0 2019–present
Mahad Mohamed Haji 10 0 2010–2015
Abdinur Mohamud 10 0 2011–2019

Top goalscorers[edit]

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed 3 6 0.5 2000–2005
2 Abdilahi Abdi 2 — — ?–?
Mohammed Abdi 2 — — 1985–1994
Omar Mohamed 2 6 0.33 2019
Farhan Mohamed Ahmed 2 8 0.25 2019–present
Mohamed Ali Abdiaziz 2 11 0.18 2006–2011

Competitive record[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. ^ Hassan, Mohammed Sheik (2008). History of Somali football (1938–2007). Scansom. p. 20. ISBN 9789185945986. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  4. ^ "World Cup qualifying: Somalia national team's history-making driving instructor". BBC News. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Somalia vs Yemen PDR for Arab Cup Qualification 1985 (Arabic)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Final Squad". Facebook. Somali Football Federation 1951.
  7. ^ "Somalia". National Football Teams.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Somalia national football team.
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