# Djibouti national football team

The Djibouti national football team, nicknamed the "Riverains de la Mer Rouge" (lit. 'Shoremen of the Red Sea'), is the national football team of Djibouti. It is controlled by the Djiboutian Football Federation and is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The Djibouti national football team's first win in a full FIFA-sanctioned international match was a 1–0 win vs. Somalia in the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

## History
### French Somaliland (1947–1960)

Djibouti played its first international match under the name French Somaliland, at home against neighbouring Ethiopia on 5 December 1947 and lost 5–0. This was also Ethiopia's debut. The two played again in Djibouti on 1 June 1948 and Ethiopia won 2–1. On 1 May 1949, the fixture was played for the Emperor Cup in Ethiopia, and the host won 6–0. In 1954, Djibouti played Ethiopia three times: a 10–2 away loss on 1 May, a 2–0 home loss on 1 June and a 2–1 home loss the day after. Djibouti did not play a match again until 1960, when it entered a tournament for French-speaking countries held in Madagascar. The team lost 9–2 in the first round to Cameroon on 13 April. This was the squad's last game as French Somaliland.

### Djibouti (1977–present)

After gaining independence in 1977, the team played under the name Djibouti for the first time against Ethiopia in an away match on 27 March 1983 and lost 8–1. The two played again two days later with Ethiopia again victorious, by 4–2. After a third friendly against Ethiopia, a 2–0 home defeat on 23 March 1984, Djibouti entered a tournament in Ethiopia against the host and Zimbabwe. They lost 2–0 to Ethiopia on 3 June and then 3–1 to Zimbabwe on 7 June.
Djibouti's first appearance at the CECAFA Cup, a local competition for nations in East and Central Africa, was in Kenya in 1994. These were its first matches since defeating South Yemen in 1988. The Djibouti squad lost 4–1 to the hosts on 28 November, 2–1 to Somalia on 1 December, and 3–0 to Tanzania on 3 December. Djibouti did not advance to the next round.
After the 1994 CECAFA Cup, Djibouti did not play a match until the qualification campaign for the 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Kenya, and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 31 July 1998. The second leg at home was lost 9–1 on 15 August and Kenya went through 12–1 on aggregate.
In 1998, Djibouti became a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The football squad has since participated in the Arab Games, a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab World.
Djibouti entered its first ever World Cup qualification in an attempt to reach the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. In Pool D of the first round of African qualification, it was drawn against the DR Congo in a two-legged qualifying preliminary. Djibouti hosted the first leg at Stade du Ville in Djibouti on 7 April 2000, drawing the match 1–1 before a crowd of 2,700 fans. The squad lost the second leg 9–1 away at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa and the DR Congo advanced 10–2 on aggregate.
Djibouti has never played in the African Cup of Nations, with the team regularly withdrawing or not entering for financial reasons.
Prior to their four preliminary qualifiers in late 2019, Djibouti had 2 wins, 3 draws and 55 defeats from 60 competitive matches. However, a number of new players were called up and results finally improved. First, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, Djibouti beat Eswatini 2–1 at home and drew 0–0 in Manzini to advance to the second round for the first time since the 2010 qualifying when they beat Somalia 1-0 (2–1 on aggregate). This was a massive improvement from the previous edition when Djibouti had also played Eswatini and lost 8–1 on aggregate. One month later, Djibouti played two 1–1 draws against Gambia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round, only losing the tie on penalties.

## 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
## Coaches

| Name | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % |
| Mohamed Bader | 1998? – Dec 2001 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0.00% |
| Ahmed Hussein | Oct 2007 – Dec 2007 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.00% |
| Mohamed Abar | Jan 2008 – Jun 2008 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.00% |
| Ahmed Abdelmonem | Jul 2008 – Jul 2010 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.00% |
| Noureddine Gharsalli | Oct 2011 – Jul 2016 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00% |
| Michael Gibson | Jul 2016 – Apr 2017 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.00% |
| Moussa Ghassoum | Dec 2017 – Apr 2019 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00% |
| Julien Mette | Apr 2019 – Oct 2021 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 23.08% |
| Mohamed Meraneh Hassan | Oct 2021 – Jan 2022 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 25.00% |
| Abdourahman Okie Hadi | Jan 2022 - present | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 20.00% |

## Players
### Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Sierra Leone and Ethiopia on 5 and 9 June 2024.
Caps and goals are correct as of 9 June 2024, after the match against Ethiopia.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1GK | Sulait Luyima | (1993-11-04) 4 November 1993 (age 31) | 6 | 0 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 1GK | Moktar Youssouf Said | (2004-10-12) 12 October 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Dikhil |
| 1GK | Aboubaker Guedi | (1987-10-02) 2 October 1987 (age 37) | 0 | 0 | SDC Group |
| 2DF | Ali Youssouf Farada | (1995-08-25) 25 August 1995 (age 29) | 34 | 1 | AS Port |
| 2DF | Yabe Siad | (1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 (age 26) | 25 | 1 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 2DF | Warsama Ibrahim Aden | (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 26) | 22 | 1 | AS Port |
| 2DF | Moussa Araita | (1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 (age 27) | 19 | 0 | AS Port |
| 2DF | Fouad Moussa Robleh | (1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 31) | 15 | 1 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 2DF | Moustapha Abdi Osman | (1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 (age 33) | 8 | 0 | Garde Républicaine FC |
| 2DF | Ibrahim Idriss Mohamed | (2002-11-14) 14 November 2002 (age 22) | 5 | 0 | ASAS Djibouti Télécom |
| 2DF | Abdillahi Elmi | (2003-03-19) 19 March 2003 (age 21) | 4 | 0 | ASAS Djibouti Télécom |
| 2DF | Djimaleh Awaleh Kayad | (1995-10-20) 20 October 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Gendarmerie |
| 3MF | Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh | (1991-11-11) 11 November 1991 (age 33) | 30 | 1 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 3MF | Hamza Abdi Idleh | (1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 (age 33) | 27 | 2 | Dikhil |
| 3MF | Ahmed Mohamed Aden | (1990-12-04) 4 December 1990 (age 34) | 8 | 0 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 3MF | Ramadan Abdi Abdillahi | (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 27) | 2 | 0 | ASAS Djibouti Télécom |
| 3MF | Awaleh Hoch Gedo | (2001-10-18) 18 October 2001 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | Garde Républicaine FC |
| 4FW | Samuel Akinbinu | (1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 25) | 21 | 8 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 4FW | Ahmed Youssouf Omar | (1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 (age 26) | 12 | 0 | AS Port |
| 4FW | Gabriel Dadzie | (1997-03-06) 6 March 1997 (age 27) | 13 | 5 | Arta Solar 7 |
| 4FW | Mahad Abdi | (1999-07-11) 11 July 1999 (age 25) | 7 | 0 | Garde Républicaine FC |
| 4FW | Moktar Hassan | (1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 26) | 1 | 0 | ASAS Djibouti Télécom |
| 3MF | Zakaria Abdi Mouhoumed | (2000-04-23) 23 April 2000 (age 24) | 0 | 0 | SDC Group |

### Recent call-ups

The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
| GK | Innocent Mbonihankuye | (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 28) | 25 | 0 | Espereance | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2023 |
| DF | Idriss Houmed Bilha | (1997-08-27) 27 August 1997 (age 27) | 0 | 0 | Arta Solar 7 | v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024 |
| MF | Warsama Hassan | (1999-03-17) 17 March 1999 (age 25) | 25 | 2 | Arta Solar 7 | v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024 |
| FW | Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh | (1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 29) | 29 | 7 | Arta Solar 7 | v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024 |
| FW | Mohamed Fouad Mohamed | (2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 25) | 18 | 1 | Arta Solar 7 | v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024 |
| FW | Omar Abdallah | (2002-10-30) 30 October 2002 (age 22) | 2 | 0 | Garde Républicaine | v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024 |

## Player records

    As of 31 October 2024
    Players in bold are still active with Djibouti.

### Most appearances

| Rank | Name | Caps | Goals | Career |
| 1 | Ali Youssouf Farada | 36 | 1 | 2017–present |
| 2 | Daoud Wais | 34 | 1 | 2008–2021 |
| 3 | Daher Mohamed Kadar [it] | 33 | 1 | 2006–2017 |
| 4 | Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh | 32 | 1 | 2016–present |
| 5 | Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh | 30 | 7 | 2016–present |
| 6 | Hamza Abdi Idleh | 28 | 2 | 2016–present |
| 7 | Warsama Hassan | 27 | 2 | 2019–present |
| 7 | Yabe Siad | 27 | 1 | 2019–present |
| 9 | Innocent Mbonihankuye | 25 | 0 | 2019–present |
| 10 | Guedi Hassan | 23 | 0 | 2007–2016 |
| 10 | Ibrahim Aden Warsama | 23 | 1 | 2015–present |

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
| 1 | Samuel Akinbinu | 8 | 21 | 0.38 | 2021–present |
| 2 | Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh | 7 | 30 | 0.23 | 2016–present |
| 3 | Gabriel Dadzie | 6 | 15 | 0.4 | 2022–present |
| 4 | Ahmed Daher | 3 | 13 | 0.23 | 2007–2009 |
| 5 | Ahmed Daoud | 2 | 3 | 0.67 | 2011 |
| 5 | Abdourahman Okieh Hadi | 2 | 3 | 0.67 | 2005–2006 |
| 5 | Arid Ahmed Mohamed | 2 | 5 | 0.4 | 1999–2000 |
| 5 | Mohamed Liban | 2 | 17 | 0.12 | 2008–2015 |
| 5 | Warsama Hassan | 2 | 27 | 0.07 | 2019–present |
| 5 | Hamza Abdi Idleh | 2 | 28 | 0.07 | 2016–present |

## Competition records

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record
Qualification record
Appearances: 0
Appearances: 6
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1930 to 1974
Part of  France
Part of  France
1978 to 1994
Not a FIFA member
Not a FIFA member
1998
Did not enterDeclined participation
2002Did not qualify
2011210
2006Did not enterDeclined participation
2010Did not qualify
7106330
2014
200208
2018
200218
2022
8116630
2026To be determined
4013210
2030
To be determined
2034
Total
0/7
25
2
3
20
14
96 :
Olympic Games
Olympic Games record
Appearances: 0
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1896 – 1976Part of  France (FRA)
1980Did not enter
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008Did not qualify
2012Did not enter
2016
2020
2024
Total0/28
Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition. :
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
1963Part of  FrancePart of  France
1964
1966
1985Did not enterDid not enter
1988
1992
1998
2002
2009Did not qualify
2
0
0
2
3
8
2012Did not enterDid not enter
2021Did not qualify
1
0
0
1
0
1
Total0/9
3
0
0
3
3
9
^1 The 2009 edition was cancelled during qualification.
Arab Games
Arab Games record
Appearances: 0
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1953Part of  France (FRA)
1957
1961
1965
1976
1985Did not enter
1992
1997
1999
2004No tournament
2007Did not enter
2011
Total0/11 :