Somalia national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
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	204 (7 February 2019)
Highest	65 (April–June 1996)
Lowest	203 (April–May 2019)
Elo ranking
Current	203 3 (3 March 2019)
Highest	126 (1973)
Lowest	205 (2015)
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. 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, 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

2023

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 16 November	Algeria	3–1	Somalia	Algiers, Algeria
18:00 UTC+1	Abdi  2' (o.g.) Bounedjah  31' Slimani  80'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288282/288289/400017614	Ahmed  65'	Stadium: Nelson Mandela Stadium Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali)

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 21 November	Somalia	0–1	Uganda	Berkane, Morocco
14:00 UTC+1		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288282/288289/400017613	Mato  4'	Stadium: Stade Municipal de Berkane Attendance: 200 Referee: Pedro Ndong Ovono Obono (Equatorial Guinea)

2024

2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 20 March	Somalia	0–3	Eswatini	El Jadida, Morocco
		https://globalsportsarchive.com/match/soccer/2024-03-20/somalia-vs-eswatini/3283343/	Figuareido  33' Ndzinisa  45+3' Thwala  56'	Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium Referee: Andre Kolissala Mbangui (Central African Republic)

2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 26 March	Eswatini	2–2 (5–2 agg.)	Somalia	Mbombela, South Africa
	Ndzinisa  46' Matsebula  49'	https://globalsportsarchive.com/match/soccer/2024-03-26/eswatini-vs-somalia/3283344/	Awad  76' Yusuf Ali  84'	Stadium: Mbombela Stadium Referee: Joseph Odey Ogabor (Nigeria)
Note: Eswatini won 5–2 on aggregate.

2026 World Cup qualification 7 June	Mozambique	2–1	Somalia	Maputo, Mozambique
15:00 UTC+2	Amade  14' Ratifo  29'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288282/288289/400018200	Shirwa  66'	Stadium: Estádio do Zimpeto Attendance: 41,000 Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)

2026 World Cup qualification 10 June	Somalia	1–3	Botswana	Maputo, Mozambique
15:00 UTC+2	Hassan  74'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288282/288289/400018201	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	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 Mozambique and Botswana on 7 and 10 June 2024, respectively.

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

No.	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 27)	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 19)	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 24)	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 25)	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

Players in bold are still active with Somalia.

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Somalia para niños

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