Mohamed Awad still has euphoric memories of the day of July 13 and the announcement of the confrontation of his team, the Ocean Stars, with the powerful Algeria, during qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. I was very happy, I didn’t really realize that we were going to compete against one of the best African teams. It had been so long since this happened to our team that I ended up wondering if I would play for Somalia again,” explained the Somali international midfielder, a few days before his team’s honorable defeat on November 16 in Algiers (1-3) against the Fennecs, 2019 African champions, when the worst was promised to them.
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Somalia, which occupies 200th place in the FIFA rankings (out of 207 selections) is due to host Uganda in Berkane, Morocco, on Tuesday November 21. The still precarious security situation in the country makes it impossible to organize international matches in Mogadishu, the capital. “Things are getting a little better, but there are still terrorist attacks. The risk is decreasing, and I think that if we are on the right track, we will have to be patient before Somalia becomes more stable”, estimates Mohamed Salad, journalist for Doha News and Sport Illustrated. The Somali public, who have not seen their national team play since October 19, 1986 and a qualifying match for the CAN against Kenya, will undoubtedly have to wait longer before encouraging them in Mogadishu. No meetings are scheduled there, whether for the World Cup qualifiers or those for the 2025 African Cup of Nations (CAN).
“It was important to play again”
The great return of the Somali national team to the international scene, after months of inactivity due to lack of financial means, took place in October, during a training camp in Morocco punctuated by three friendly matches against Niger (0- 3), Sierra Leone (0-2) and Libya (0-0). “The last time we met was in March 2022, to face Eswatini (0-3, 1-2), in the preliminary round of qualifying for CAN 2023 [qui sera disputée en janvier et février 2024]. We ended up wondering if we were ever going to play again, relate Mohamed Awad. It was important to do this training, to play again, and also to finally get to know our new coach. »
Moroccan Rachid Loustèque briefly led the local selection in July 2022 against Tanzania, in qualifying for the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN), before being forced to distance himself. “I had developed a vast sporting project, around a playing system, an internal organization of the selection, a program for the years to come. For several months, I had no contact, until the federation and the new president, Ali Abdi Mohamed [élu en février], contact me again in May. My project was validated and I was able to start implementing it”explains the technician.
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Rachid Loustèque, who signed a contract until December 2025, was also entrusted with the reins of the local selections, made up only of players playing in the Somali championship, and Olympic. “So I spend a lot of time in Mogadishu attending league matches, which all take place in the capital, to watch players. I go to the stadiums, and I realized that football is a real passion for many Somalis”, he enthuses. The championship, whose players are professionals, is dominated by the clubs of Dekedaha, Horseed, Mogadicio City Club, Elman or Gaadidka, which provide the Ocean Stars with the majority of its selected players, the others being under contract with clubs located in the United States. United States, Tanzania and Europe.
” New start “
Born in New Zealand, player for Sliema Wanderers in Malta, Mohamed Awad, falls into the latter category. “The national selection strongly connects me to Somalia. It’s something very important for me to play for her, even though I was born in New Zealand. I hope one day I will have the opportunity to go there and play in Mogadishu,” says the young man who has never been to his country of origin. This patriotic fiber, very real among Somalis born abroad or having left their country very early due to the civil war, is one of the levers that Rachid Loustèque activated to convince all those eligible to wear the light blue jersey .
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He took advantage of the months preceding the internship in Morocco to increase contacts with internationals playing abroad and dual nationals, contacted by European federations, mainly in Scandinavia. “We had to explain to them that we were making a new starthe says. The federation wants the selection to be more present in Africa, despite limited financial resources. But we strive to guarantee players that Somalia will play matches and travel in good conditions, and this speech carried, since a majority responded favorably. »
While Somalia has never participated in a CAN final phase, the federation still has reasonable ambitions. “There is a desire from its leaders to progress football. But it will take time, don’t be in too much of a hurry.”insists journalist Mohamed Salad. “A football that works and has a project is also a way of turning the page little by little,” concludes Rachid Loustèque.
2023-11-21 11:32:47
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