Somaliland national football team

Not to be confused with Somaliland national football team.

Somaliland

Association	Somaliland Football Association
Head coach	Omar Abdillahi
Captain	Mohamed Jama
Most caps	Abdillahi Nur
Home stadium	Hargeisa Stadium
FIFA code	SMD
First colours Second colours
First international
Somaliland 1–2 Yemen   (Hargeisa, Somaliland; 6 November 2002)
Biggest win
Somaliland 5–0 Tamil Eelam   (?, England; 17 March 2015)
Biggest defeat
Somaliland 3–10 Székely Land   (Gagra, Georgia; 3 June 2016)
ConIFA World Football Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2016 )
Best result	Group stage (2016)

The Somaliland national football team is the football team that represents Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as a de facto state. Although Somaliland is a de facto state, it has not yet received international de jure recognition. Somaliland is not a member of FIFA and CAF. Instead, it is an associate member of ConIFA, an association established in 2014 of teams from dependencies, unrecognised states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions that are not affiliated with FIFA. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

The Somaliland national team's first known match was on 6 November 2002 against Ethiopia with a 1–2 loss, ^[4] however their first proper international match was a 2–2 draw against Sealand, which was played on 17 May 2014 in London, England. ^[5]

The Somaliland Football Association currently runs a national league consisting of 12 semi-professional clubs, which are sponsored or backed by both public and private organisations. The Association also holds a bi-annual inter-regional football tournament, in which all 13 regions participate in group stages held across the country, with the final 4 group winners contesting the semi-finals in the capital Hargeisa.

2016 ConIFA World Football Cup

Following ConIFA's annual conference, the Somaliland national team was invited to compete at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup (hosted by Abkhazia), which became their first appearance at an international tournament. ^{[6] [7]}

Somaliland were drawn into Group D alongside Panjab and Sápmi. Somaliland lost their opening game against Sápmi with a scoreline of 5–0, ^[8] and they lost again to Panjab 5–0, resulting in Somaliland finishing bottom of Group D.

In the Placement round 1, Somaliland won 3–2 against Chagos Islands to advance to the Placement round 2, and in their Placement round 2 match against Székely Land, Somaliland lost 3–10 to see them place tenth out of twelve teams. ^[9]

2025 Somaliland Recognition Bid and FIFA application

Somaliland being recognized by various nations on media such as UK and USA would mean stronger FIFA application as a country, Somaliland would play in CAF and in CECAFA in African football, Somaliland may Join Fifa in 2025 after being recognized as a separate country, and its FIFA application is pending recognition.

Stadium

Hargeysa National Stadium is the home of the national team, and the stadium has a capacity of 30,000. ^[10]

Coaches

Name	Nat	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Efficiency %
Fuad Abdillahi Isse		2012 – 2015					%
Omar Abdillahi		2015 – ?					%

Current squad

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1 GK	Abdirisaq Mohamed Jama				Maroodi Jeeh
23	1 GK	Abdiqani Saleban Aynan				Hawd
22	1 GK	Mohamed Ahmed Hashi				Sanaag
2	2 DF	Abdifatah Osman Hussein				Maroodi Jeeh
3	2 DF	Abdisamad Ibrahim Miigane				Awdal
4	2 DF	Ibrahim Said Dahir				Awdal
5	2 DF	Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamoud				Saaxil
19	2 DF	Abdirisaq Hassan Jama				Togdheer
18	2 DF	Abdirahman Jama Musa				Gabiley
6	3 MF	Abdikarin Mohamed Hersi				Maroodi Jeeh
8	3 MF	Hamse Ahmed Abdillahi				Hawd
14	3 MF	Muhiyadin Duale Diriye				Awdal
15	3 MF	Jama Abdillahi Awad				Saaxil
16	3 MF	Farhan Mohamed Ahmed				Togdheer
7	3 MF	Abdirahman Ibrahim Alixayd				Sanaag
21	3 MF	Omar Ali Osman				Gabiley
13	3 MF	Sakariye Ali Egeh				Gabiley
24	4 FW	Abdiriyad Bashir Abdi				Maroodi Jeeh
12	4 FW	Mohamoud Abdi Hassan				Maroodi Jeeh
9	4 FW	Sharma'arke Fu'ad Ali				Maroodi Jeeh
10	4 FW	Haibe Good Hurre				Hawd
11	4 FW	Awil Mohamed Elmi				Hawd
26	4 FW	Liban Mohamed Ahmed				Awdal
17	4 FW	Ahmed Abdi Osman				Sool
20	4 FW	Ibrahim Abdirahman Salah				Sanaag
25	4 FW	Guleid Hassan Muhumed				Gabiley

^[11]

Association officials

Name	Position
Ilyas Mohamed	President
Guiled Adan	Chief Operating Officer
Idris Mohamed	General Secretary

Somaliland National Football Team starting XI

Historical kits

2014 Home

2014 Away

2015 African Cup (UK)

2015 African Cup (UK)

2016 Home

2016 Away

Sources: ^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]}

See also

• Somaliland

References

1. "The Unrecognized - Roads & Kingdoms". roadsandkingdoms.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
2. "Somaliland | CONIFA". www.conifa.org. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
3. "Somaliland". ConIFA. 31 July 2015.
4. Morisson, Neil (2 February 2005). "2003 International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
5. Magee, Will (16 May 2017). "For the Somaliland National Team, Recognition Means More Than Acclaim". saxafimedia.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
6. Balmforth, Tom (2 June 2016). "At Outsiders' 'World Cup,' Somaliland Team Sees Way To Give Back". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
7. Pender, Kieran (3 June 2016). "'Listening to our anthem was really emotional': the World Cup for unrecognized states". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
8. Teigen, Arne (30 May 2016). "Sapmi-herrene startet med storseier (The Sapmi Lords started with a big win)". www.framtidinord.no. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
9. "Rankings". conifa.org. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
10. "World Stadiums - Africa Stadiums". Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
11. "Somaliland oo Lagaga Dhawaaqay Kooxda Xulka Ciyaartoyda Kubadda Cagta ee Qaranka" (in Somali). Retrieved 25 January 2020.
12. "2014". Facebook .
13. "2015".
14. "2015". Facebook .
15. "2016". Facebook .
16. "2016". Facebook .

External links

• Somaliland Football Association on Facebook
• Somaliland Champions League on Facebook