Somalia national football team

Somalia Football Federation
Nickname(s)	The Ocean Stars
Association	Somali Football Federation; (Xiriirka Soomaaliyeed ee Kubbadda Cagta)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	CECAFA ; (Central & East Africa)
Head coach	Rachid Lousteque
Captain	Abdulsamed Abdullahi
Most caps	Yasin Ali Egal (20)
Top scorer	Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed (3)
Home stadium	Mogadishu Stadium
FIFA code	SOM
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	202 (24 October 2024)
Highest	65 (April–June 1996)
Lowest	203 (April–May 2019)
First international
	Kenya 4–1 Somalia ; (Mombasa, Kenya; 1958)
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	Fifth place (1974, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1994, 2019)
Arab Games
Appearances	1 (first in 1985)
Best result	Seventh place (1985)

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.^[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

Kits and crest

Kit provider	Period
Adidas	2002–2019
A2Z Sports	2020–2021
Puma	2021–2022
A2Z Sports	2022–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

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

2024

20 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	Somalia	0–3	Eswatini	El Jadida, Morocco
		Report	Figuareido 33' Ndzinisa 45+3' Thwala 56'	Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium Referee: Andre Kolissala Mbangui (Central African Republic)

26 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	Eswatini	2–2 (5–2 agg.)	Somalia	Mbombela, South Africa
	Ndzinisa 46' Matsebula 49'	Report	Awad 76' Yusuf Ali 84'	Stadium: Mbombela Stadium Referee: Joseph Odey Ogabor (Nigeria)
Note: Eswatini won 5–2 on aggregate.

7 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Mozambique	2–1	Somalia	Maputo, Mozambique
15:00 UTC+2	Amade 14' Ratifo 29'	Report	Shirwa 66'	Stadium: Estádio do Zimpeto Attendance: 41,000 Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)

10 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Somalia	1–3	Botswana	Maputo, Mozambique
15:00 UTC+2	Hassan 74'	Report	Sesinyi 10' Gaolaolwe 53' Seakanyeng 72'	Stadium: Estádio do Zimpeto Referee: Emmanuel Mensah (Liberia)

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	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 Mozambique and Botswana on 7 and 10 June 2024, respectively.^[6]

Caps and goals correct as of 10 June 2024, after the match against Botswana.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Abdirahman Mohamud	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	3	0	Dekedaha
1GK	Abdi Samad		0	0	Waxool
1GK	Aleeleya Sheikh Saeed		0	0	Coast Stars

2DF	Ahmed Banu Hirabe	(1997-12-12) 12 December 1997 (age 26)	12	0	Horseed
2DF	Saadiq Elmi	(2000-11-11) 11 November 2000 (age 24)	11	0	Moss
2DF	Mohamud Ali	(1994-07-08) 8 July 1994 (age 30)	10	0	Atherton Collieries
2DF	Abel Gigli	(1990-08-16) 16 August 1990 (age 34)	10	1	Correggese
2DF	Abdi Salim	(2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 (age 23)	5	0	Orlando City
2DF	Isse Abdulkadir	(1999-07-01) 1 July 1999 (age 25)	3	0	Elman
2DF	Fahad Mohamed	(2000-03-21) 21 March 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Ekenäs

3MF	Abdulsamed Abdullahi	(1997-01-19) 19 January 1997 (age 27)	8	0	FK Dečić
3MF	Ismail Liban	(2001-07-29) 29 July 2001 (age 23)	4	0	Altona Magic
3MF	Ismael Shirwa	(1994-03-13) 13 March 1994 (age 30)	4	1	Werribee City
3MF	Mohamed Sheik Ahmed		0	0	Ohio Dominican Panthers
3MF	Zakariyah Nur	(2005-12-12) 12 December 2005 (age 18)	1	0	Cumberland United
3MF	Abdullahi Osman	(1999-04-05) 5 April 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Perth
3MF	Mohamed Omar	(1999-01-22) 22 January 1999 (age 25)	0	0	San Antonio

4FW	Mohamed Awad	(1994-05-07) 7 May 1994 (age 30)	10	1	Sliema Wanderers
4FW	Sak Hassan	(2001-03-21) 21 March 2001 (age 23)	10	2	Hashtag United
4FW	Yusuf Ahmed	(1997-04-24) 24 April 1997 (age 27)	8	1	Avondale
4FW	Mukhtar Suleiman	(1998-08-10) 10 August 1998 (age 26)	8	0	SV Spakenburg
4FW	Issa Adim Abatari	(2002-02-13) 13 February 2002 (age 22)	6	0	Mogadishu City
4FW	Yusuf Ali		1	1	Avondale
4FW	Handwalla Bwana	(1999-06-25) 25 June 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Unattached

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
GK	Mustaf Yuusuf	(1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 26)	18	0	IFK Berga	v. Eswatini; 26 March 2024
GK	Ibrahim Ahmed Hussein	(2005-12-23) 23 December 2005 (age 18)	1	0	Waxool	v. Eswatini; 26 March 2024
GK	Ahmed Mayow Shariff	(2002-02-08) 8 February 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Horseed	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023

DF	Abdiwali Abdirahman Mohamed	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 24)	6	0	Elman	v. Eswatini; 26 March 2024
DF	Ayman Mohamed Hussein	(2000-12-12) 12 December 2000 (age 23)	6	0	Horseed	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
DF	Abdi Mohamed	(1996-10-25) 25 October 1996 (age 28)	7	0	New Mexico United	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
DF	Ahmed Isse	(2001-02-03) 3 February 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Real Balompédica Linense	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023

MF	Isse Ismail	(1999-04-20) 20 April 1999 (age 25)	5	0	Stocksund	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
MF	Omar Jama	(1998-05-21) 21 May 1998 (age 26)	5	0	JäPS	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
MF	Abdulkadir Sidow		2	0	Elman	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
MF	Haji Adan		1	0	Dekedaha	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
MF	Haji Abdikadir	(1998-10-15) 15 October 1998 (age 26)	3	0	Athlone Town	v. Libya; 19 October 2023
MF	Muqtar Ahmed	(2005-04-15) 15 April 2005 (age 19)	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	Ibrahim Ilyas	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 24)	6	0	KMC	v. Eswatini; 26 March 2024
FW	Hussein Mohamed	(1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 27)	11	0	JäPS	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
FW	Farhan Mohamed Ahmed	(2000-11-15) 15 November 2000 (age 24)	9	2	Horseed	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
FW	Mahad Mohamed Abdulkadir	(2001-08-19) 19 August 2001 (age 23)	3	0	Horseed	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
FW	Siad Haji	(1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 24)	2	0	FC Tulsa	v. Uganda; 21 November 2023
FW	Bilal Njie	(1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 (age 26)	2	0	Odds BK	v. Libya; 19 October 2023

Player records

As of 10 June 2024^[7]

Players in bold are still active with Somalia.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Yasin Ali Egal	20	0	2003–2011
2	Mustaf Yuusuf	18	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
	Mohamed Abdi Hajir	11	2	2005-2011
	Farhan Mohamed Ahmed	11	2	2019-present
8	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	Mohammed Abdi	2	—	—	1985–1994
	Omar Mohamed	2	6	0.33	2019
	Sak Hassan	2	10	0.25	2022–present
	Farhan Mohamed Ahmed	2	11	0.18	2019–present
	Mohamed Abdi Hajir	2	11	0.18	2005–2011
	Mohamed Ali Abdiaziz	2	11	0.18	2006–2011

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record									Qualification record
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								4	0	0	4	3	9
2030									To be determined
2034									To be determined
Total		0/15							17	1	3	13	6	38

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	Part of Italy & United Kingdom								Part of Italy & United Kingdom
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	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	1	2
1978	Did not enter								Did not enter
1980	Withdrew								Withdrew
1982	Did not enter								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								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	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	2	5
2027	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/35							13	3	1	9	7	24

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								Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	1	6
2014	Did not enter								Did not enter
2016	Did not enter								Did not enter
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	Did not enter
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	Did not qualify
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

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	Group stage	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	Did not enter
1983	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	3	5
1984	Group stage	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	Group stage	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									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	Part of Italy & England
1961	Did not enter
1965
1976
1985	Group stage	7th	3	1	0	2	5	6
1992	Did not enter
1997
1999
2004	Not held
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

Notes

References

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ Hassan, Mohammed Sheik (2008). History of Somali football (1938–2007). Scansom. p. 20. ISBN 9789185945986. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ "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.
^ "Somalia vs Yemen PDR for Arab Cup Qualification 1985 (Arabic)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
^ "Final Squad". Facebook. Somali Football Federation 1951.
^ "Somalia". National Football Teams.

External links

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[Mshassan-2] Hassan, Mohammed Sheik (2008). History of Somali football (1938–2007). Scansom. p. 20. ISBN 9789185945986. Retrieved 10 July 2014.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-3] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 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.

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