Somalia national football team


The Somalia national footballers team, nicknamed the Ocean Stars, represents Somalia in international football and is controlled by the Somali Football Federation, a member of the Confederation of African Football. Somalia's first national team captain was Mohamed Shangole, whilst 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, 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 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 final stages of a 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 Feiruz and Mukhtar Ali.
On 5 September 2019, Somalia won their first qualifying match since 1984 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.

Coaches

NameNatPeriodMatchesWinsDrawsLossesEfficiency %
Qi Wusheng1978–1979
Anas Shido1984-198728197259%
Hussein Ali AbdulleMay 1999 – Dec 200080176.3%
Awil Ismail Mohamed2004–2005501410%
Ignacio GonzalezNov 2001 – Dec 2002712428.6%
Ali Abdi FarahOct 2003 – Dec 2005910811.1%
Daniel MuwatheOct 2006 – Dec 200660060%
Mohammed ShidaneOct 2007 – Dec 200740040%
Ali Abdi FarahSept 2008 – Dec 2009820625%
Mohamed FarayareJan 2010 – Mar 2010210150%
Yousef AdamOct 2010 – Dec 201030030%
Alfred ImonjeOct 2011 – Dec 2011501410%
Sam SsimbwaDec 2011 – Oct 201360060%
Callum CawkwellNov 2013 – Mar 201430030%
Sam SsimbwaMar 2014 – Sept 201520020%
Charles MbabaziSept 2015
Haruna MawaNov 2016 – Nov 201920020%
Bashir HayfordNov 2019 – Dec 201920020%
Said Abdi HaibehDec 2019 –00000%

Recent schedule and results

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2019

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

Africa Cup of Nations record

Olympic Games record

All-Africa Games record

CECAFA Cup record

Arab Nations Cup record

Pan Arab Games record

Minor Tournaments record

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2019 CECAFA Cup in December 2019.

Recent call-ups