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 Ethiopia   (Hargeisa, Somaliland; 6 November 2002) [1]
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 internationally recognised 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 or the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Instead, it is an associate member of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA), an association established in 2014 of teams from dependencies, unrecognised states, minorities, stateless peoples, and regions that are not affiliated with FIFA. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

History

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

The Somaliland Football Association runs a national league consisting of 12 semi-professional clubs, sponsored or backed by both public and private organisations. The Association also holds a biannual inter-regional football tournament, in which all 13 regions participate in group stages held across the country, with the final four 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 was drawn into Group D alongside Panjab and Sápmi. Somaliland lost their opening game against Sápmi with a score of 5–0, ^[8] and lost again to Panjab 5–0, resulting in Somaliland finishing at the bottom of Group D.

In Placement Round 1, Somaliland won 3–2 against the Chagos Islands to advance to Placement Round 2. In their Placement Round 2 match against Székely Land, Somaliland lost 3–10, placing tenth out of twelve teams. ^[9]

2025 Somaliland recognition bid and FIFA application

Somaliland FIFA application is currently pending recognition is gaining momentum If recognised as a separate country, Somaliland could join the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and CECAFA. FIFA membership in 2025 is pending international recognition, with plans to host Confederation of African Football matches at Hargeisa stadium capital of Somaliland republic stadiums need renovation with multiple redevelopments to meet CAF regulations and FIFA regulations , such as advertising barriers, back power generation , lighting intensity , and stadium safety with no stand on goal views at Hargeisa stadium , Somaliland would need to meet FIFA regulations on goal posts , power , lighting and advertising barriers Hargeisa stadium is the largest stadium in Hargeisa and would be their main stadium. Somaliland FIFA country code is SMD for score lines.

Stadium

Hargeysa National Stadium is the home of the national team and 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. Morisson, Neil (2 February 2005). "2003 International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
2. "The Unrecognized - Roads & Kingdoms". roadsandkingdoms.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
3. "Somaliland | CONIFA". www.conifa.org. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
4. "Somaliland". ConIFA. 31 July 2015.
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