Somalia national football team

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

Somalia

Nickname(s)	The Ocean Stars
Association	Xiriirka Soomaaliyeed ee Kubbadda Cagta
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	CECAFA (Central & East Africa)
Head coach	ina jamac
Captain	Ahmed Said Ahmed
Most caps	Yasin Ali Egal (19)
Top scorer	Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed (3)
Home stadium	Mogadishu Stadium
FIFA code	SOM
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	199 1 (4 April 2024) [1]
Highest	65 (April–June 1996)
Lowest	203 (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
Appearances	26 (first in 1973 )
Best result	5th
Arab Games
Appearances	1 (first in 1985 )
Best result	7th

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

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. ^[3] 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

Kits and crest

Kit provider	Period
Adidas	2015–2021
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, ^[4] 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

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

Somalia   v   Niger

14 October Friendly	Somalia	0–3	Niger	Berrechid, Morocco
16:30 UTC+1			Amoustapha 9' A. Wonkoye 26' (pen.) Goumey 74'	Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium

Somalia   v   Sierra Leone

17 October Friendly	Somalia	0–2	Sierra Leone	Berrechid, Morocco
19:30 UTC+1			Turay 26' (pen.), 59'	Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium

Somalia   v   Libya

19 October Friendly	Somalia	0–0	Libya	Khouribga, Morocco
19:00  UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Phosphate Stadium

Algeria   v   Somalia

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)

Somalia   v   Uganda

21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Somalia	0–1	Uganda	Berkane, Morocco
14:00  UTC+1		Report	Mato 4'	Stadium: Stade Municipal de Berkane Attendance: 200 Referee: Pedro Ndong Ovono Obono (Equatorial Guinea)

2024

Somalia   v   Eswatini

20 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	Somalia	0–3	Eswatini
			Figuareido 40' Ginindza 45', 56'

Eswatini   v   Somalia

26 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	Eswatini	2–2 (5–2 agg.)	Somalia
Note: Eswatini won 5–2 on aggregate.

Coaches

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		1978–1979
Klaus Ebbighausen		1980
Hussein Ali Abdulle		May 1999 – Dec 2000	8	0	1	7	6.3%
Awil Ismail Mohamed		Nov 2001 – Dec 2002	7	1	2	4	28.6%
Ali Abdi Farah		Oct 2003 – Dec 2005	9	1	0	8	11.1%
Daniel Muwathe		Oct 2006 – Dec 2006	6	0	0	6	0%
Hussein Ali Abdulle		Oct 2007 – Dec 2007	4	0	0	4	0%
Ali Abdi Farah		Sept 2008 – Dec 2009	8	2	0	6	25%
Mohamed Farayare		Jan 2010 – Mar 2010	2	1	0	1	50%
Yousef Adam		Oct 2010 – Dec 2010	3	0	0	3	0%
Alfred Imonje		Oct 2011 – Dec 2011	5	0	1	4	10%
Sam Ssimbwa		Dec 2011 – Oct 2013	6	0	0	6	0%
Sam Ssimbwa		Mar 2014 – Sept 2015	2	0	0	2	0%
Charles Mbabazi		Sept 2015
Haruna Mawa		Nov 2016 – Nov 2019
Bashir Hayford		Mar 2019 – 2019	7	2	2	3	42.8%
Said Abdi Haibeh		Dec 2019 – May 2021	4	1	2	1	25%
Abdellatif Salef		May 2021 – June 2021	0	0	0	0	0%
Salad Farah		June 2021 – February 2022	2	0	0	2	0%
Pieter de Jongh		February 2022 – May 2022	2	0	0	2	0%
Rachid Lousteque		July 2022 – 2023	0	0	0	0	0%

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Algeria and Uganda on 16 and 21 November 2023, respectively. ^[5]

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

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

Recent call ups

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	Athlone Town	v.   Libya ; 19 October 2023
MF	Muqtar Ahmed	(2005-04-15) 15 April 2005 (age 18)	1	0	Winterthur II	v.   Libya ; 19 October 2023
MF	Abdi Sharif	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Wigan Athletic	v.   Libya ; 19 October 2023
FW	Bilal Njie	(1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 (age 25)	2	0	FK Haugesund	v.   Libya ; 19 October 2023

Player records

As of 21 November 2023 ^[6]

Players in bold are still active with Somalia.

Most appearances

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

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

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup Qualification Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 1930 to 1958 Part of   Italy &   United Kingdom Part of   Italy &   United Kingdom 1962 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member 1966 to 1978 Did not enter Did not enter 1982 Did not qualify 2 0 2 0 1 1 1986 to 1998 Did not enter Did not enter 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6 2006 2 0 0 2 0 7 2010 1 0 0 1 0 1 2014 2 0 1 1 0 5 2018 2 0 0 2 0 6 2022 2 1 0 1 2 3 2026 To be determined 2 0 0 2 1 4 2030 To be determined 2034 Total 0/15 15 1 3 11 4 33 Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations record Qualification record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 1957 Part of   Italy &   United Kingdom Part of   Italy &   United Kingdom 1959 1962 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF 1963 1965 1968 1970 Withdrew Withdrew 1974 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 5 1976 2 1 0 1 1 2 1978 Did not enter 1980 Withdrew Withdrew 1982 Did not enter 1984 Did not qualify 1 0 0 1 0 1 1986 2 1 0 1 1 1 1988 2 0 1 1 0 5 1990 Did not enter 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 5 2025 To be determined To be determined 2027 Total 0/36 11 3 1 7 5 19 African Nations Championship African Nations Championship record Qualification record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 2009 Did not enter 2011 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 1 6 2014 Did not enter 2016 2018 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 4 2020 2 0 0 2 2 7 2022 2 0 0 2 1 3 Total 0/6 8 1 0 7 5 20 Olympic Games Olympic Games record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1896–1960 Part of   Italy &   England 1964 Did not enter 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 Did not qualify 1996 Did not enter 2000 2004 Did not qualify 2008 2012 2016 2020 Total 0/26 Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition. All-Africa Games All-Africa Games record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1965 Did not enter 1973 Did not qualify 1978 1987 Did not enter 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 Did not enter Total 0/11 Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the All-Africa Games was open to full senior national teams. CECAFA Cup Main article: CECAFA Cup CECAFA Cup record Appearances: 26 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1973 Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 2 12 1974 5th 2 0 1 1 2 3 1975 did not enter 1976 Group stage 7th 3 0 0 3 2 7 1977 5th 3 1 1 1 2 2 1978 5th 4 0 1 3 3 10 1979 did not enter 1980 Group stage 6th 2 0 1 1 1 3 1981 did not enter 1982 1983 Group stage 7th 3 0 1 2 3 5 1984 5th 3 1 1 1 3 3 1985 did not enter 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1994 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 8 1995 8th 3 0 0 3 1 15 1996 did not enter 1999 Group stage 12th 2 0 0 2 0 5 2000 9th 4 0 1 3 1 11 2001 9th 3 0 1 2 0 6 2002 8th 4 1 0 3 1 4 2003 did not enter 2004 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 0 7 2005 7th 4 1 0 3 6 10 2006 10th 3 0 0 3 0 8 2007 10th 3 0 0 3 0 6 2008 9th 4 1 0 3 1 9 2009 10th 3 0 0 3 1 6 2010 12th 3 0 0 3 0 11 2011 12th 3 0 0 3 1 11 2012 12th 3 0 0 3 1 13 2013 11th 3 0 0 3 0 7 2014 Not held 2015 Group stage 10th 3 0 0 3 0 9 2016 Not held 2017 Withdrew 2018 Not held 2019 Group stage 5th 4 1 2 1 1 2 2021 did not enter Total 0 titles 26/42 80 7 10 63 35 193 FIFA Arab Cup FIFA Arab Cup record Arab Cup qualification record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 1963 did not enter did not enter 1964 1966 1985 1988 1992 1998 2002 2009 did not qualify 1 3 0 0 3 3 18 2012 did not enter did not enter 2021 did not qualify 1 0 0 1 1 2 Total 0/9 4 0 0 4 4 20 ^1 The 2009 edition was cancelled during qualification. Arab Games Arab Games record Appearances: 1 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1953 Part of   Italy &   England 1957 1961 did not enter 1965 1976 1985 Group stage 7th 3 1 0 2 5 6 1992 did not enter 1997 1999 2004 No tournament 2007 did not enter 2011 Withdrew Total Group stage 1/11 3 1 0 2 5 6 Minor tournaments Minor tournaments record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1963 GANEFO Group stage 11th 2 0 0 2 0 23 1969 Friendship Cup Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 1 14 Total 0 Titles 4 0 0 4 1 37

See also

• Somali national beach soccer team
• Somali League
• Somali Cup
• Somali Football Federation

References

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. "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.
4. "Somalia vs Yemen PDR for Arab Cup Qualification 1985 (Arabic)". YouTube . Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
5. "Final Squad". Facebook. Somali Football Federation 1951.
6. "Somalia". National Football Teams.

External links

• Somali Football Federation
• Somalia at CAF
• Somalia at FIFA
• List of international matches at RSSSF