# Somalia national football team

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 |
| A2Z Sports | 2020–2021 |
| A2Z Sports | 2022–present |
From the 1970s up until the 1990s, the Somali national football team used to wear the Somali Flag and socks with the Somali Flag 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

### 2024
## Coaches

| 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.
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 24) | 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 | Detroit 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 28) | 8 | 0 | Arsenal Tivat |
| 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 26) | 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 23) | 6 | 0 | Mogadishu City |
| 4FW | Yusuf Ali | | 1 | 1 | Vermont Green |
| 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 27) | 18 | 0 | IFK Berga | v. Eswatini; 26 March 2024 |
| GK | Ibrahim Ahmed Hussein | (2005-12-23) 23 December 2005 (age 19) | 1 | 0 | Waxool | v. Eswatini; 26 March 2024 |
| GK | Ahmed Mayow Shariff | (2002-02-08) 8 February 2002 (age 23) | 0 | 0 | Horseed | v. Uganda; 21 November 2023 |
| DF | Abdiwali Abdirahman Mohamed | (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 25) | 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 24) | 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 24) | 1 | 0 | Wigan Athletic | v. Libya; 19 October 2023 |
| FW | Ibrahim Ilyas | (2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 25) | 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

    As of 10 June 2024
    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 | Mohamed Abdi Hajir [es] | 17 | 8 | 2005–2011 |
| 4 | Abubakar Nur Abdikarim | 12 | 0 | 2011–2015 |
| 5 | Mohamed Ali Abdiaziz | 11 | 2 | 2006–2011 |
| 5 | Omar Ibrahim Abdulkadir | 11 | 2 | 2000-2007 |
| 5 | Farhan Mohamed Ahmed | 11 | 2 | 2019-present |
| 8 | Cisse Aadan Abshir | 10 | 1 | 2003–2011 |
| 8 | Ahmed Said Ahmed | 10 | 0 | 2019–present |
| 8 | Hussein Mohamed | 10 | 0 | 2019–present |
| 8 | Mahad Mohamed Haji | 10 | 0 | 2010–2015 |
| 8 | Abdinur Mohamud | 10 | 0 | 2011–2019 |

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
| 1 | Mohamed Abdi Hajir | 8 | 17 | 0.06 | 2005–2011 |
| 2 | Mohammed Abdi | 2 | — | — | 1985–1994 |
| 2 | Omar Mohamed | 2 | 6 | 0.33 | 2019 |
| 2 | Sak Hassan | 2 | 10 | 0.25 | 2022–present |
| 2 | Farhan Mohamed Ahmed | 2 | 11 | 0.18 | 2019–present |
| 2 | Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed | 2 | 6 | 0.18 | 2000–2005 |
| 2 | 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
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
1957Part 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
1974Did not qualify
2
1
0
1
2
5
1976
2
1
0
1
1
2
1978Did 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
1990Did not enter
Did not enter
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023Did not qualify
2
0
0
2
1
5
2025
2
0
0
2
2
5
2027To be determinedTo be determined
Total0/35
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
2009Did not enter
Did not enter
2011Did not qualify
2
1
0
1
1
6
2014Did not enter
Did not enter
2016
2018Did not qualify
2
0
0
2
1
4
2020
2
0
0
2
2
7
2022
2
0
0
2
1
3
Total0/6
8
1
0
7
5
20
Olympic Games
Olympic Games record
Appearances: 0
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1896–1960Part of  Italy &  England
1964Did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992Did not qualify
1996Did not enter
2000
2004Did not qualify
2008
2012
2016
2020
Total0/26
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
1965Did not enter
1973Did not qualify
1978
1987Did not enter
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019Did not enter
Total0/11
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
1973Group stage6th2002212
19745th201123
1975Did not enter
1976Group stage7th300327
19775th311122
19785th4013310
1979Did not enter
1980Group stage6th201113
1981Did not enter
1982
1983Group stage7th301235
19845th311133
1985Did not enter
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1994Group stage5th310238
19958th3003115
1996Did not enter
1999Group stage12th200205
20009th4013111
20019th301206
20028th410314
2003Did not enter
2004Group stage8th300307
20057th4103610
200610th300308
200710th300306
20089th410319
200910th300316
201012th3003011
201112th3003111
201212th3003113
201311th300307
2014Not held
2015Group stage10th300309
2016Not held
2017Withdrew
2018Not held
2019Group stage5th412112
2021Did not enter
Total0 titles26/42807106335193
FIFA Arab Cup
FIFA Arab Cup record
Qualification record
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1963did not enterDid not enter
1964
1966
1985
1988
1992
1998
2002
2009Did not qualify
3
0
0
3
3
18
2012Did not enterDid not enter
2021Did not qualify
1
0
0
1
1
2
Total0/9
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
1953Part of  Italy &  England
1957
1961Did not enter
1965
1976
1985Group stage7th310256
1992Did not enter
1997
1999
2004Not held
2007Did not enter
2011Withdrew
TotalGroup stage1/11310256
Minor tournaments
Minor tournaments record
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1963 GANEFOGroup stage11th2002023
1969 Friendship CupGroup stage6th2002114
Total0 Titles4004137 :