2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Will Somalia play at Mogadishu Stadium, 38 years later?

In recent years, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has been continuously revising its safety and security requirements for stadiums used to host international football matches at club and national level. Each revision of CAF’s stadiums regulations has seen some countries and teams forced to play their home matches abroad because their countries lack stadiums which meet CAF standards.

For instance, the first two matchdays of the First Round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification in the CAF region saw 16 African countries host their home matches on foreign soil. These 16 countries are Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Niger, Seychelles, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, The Gambia, and Zimbabwe.

While this may be an unfamiliar territory for some of those 16 countries who had been used to home comforts until CAF reviewed their rules, for some countries which have been ravaged by spells of civil unrest and political instability during their history, hosting home matches abroad has been the norm rather the exception.

For one country, Somalia, this has been the norm for 38 years and not unless the next CAF review favours them, October 19, 2024, will officially mark 38 years since the Ocean Stars last played in front of their own fans.

Somalia last played on home soil on October 19, 1986, when they drew 0-0 with Uganda in an AFCON 1988 qualifier match played at the Mogadishu Stadium.

Constructed in 1977 by the administration of former Somalia President Mohammed Siad Barre, the Mogadishu Stadium was high profile entertainment and sporting events before the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991 saw it lose that status. After that, the stadium was fought over and occupied by various military groups including the Somali National Army (SNA) and the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF).

In 2013, the stadium received a new lease of life as renovations works began on the stadium. Slowly, the stadium regained lost its glory and by 2020, it had been upgraded to 35 000-capacity sports venue with facilities for hosting athletics, basketball, tennis, and volleyball matches.

The upgrading of the Mogadishu Stadium inspired hopes of the ground being used to host international matches featuring the Somali national football team but that is yet to happen, even for Somali football clubs featuring in CAF competitions. In the last two seasons, Somalia’s representatives to CAF competitions, Gaadiidka and Mogadishu City, have hosted their home matches in Djibouti and Rwanda.

Definitely, not playing at home for 39 years has stifled Somalia’s efforts to progress far in AFCON and FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches. Of course this situation was compounded by years of political instability which saw the Somali national football team fail to feature in any CAF or FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between 1986 and 2000.

Mogadishu Stadium, the largest stadium in the Horn of Africa 🇸🇴. pic.twitter.com/YHiHo2wK65

— ⚔️🇸🇴🐪 (@SomaliEmir) July 16, 2021

Since 2000, Somalia has been eliminated at the Preliminary Round of FIFA World Cup qualification on all occasions they entered a team.

Despite of its lack of success in AFCON and FIFA World Cup qualification, Somalia, through their U17 national team, have demonstrated their potential to feature in continental and global football competitions. Their U17 national team featured at the last AFCON U17 Championship which was held in Algeria. Somalia qualified for the competition after winning the 2022 CECAFA U17 Championship which was held in Ethiopia.

Another marker of Somalia slowly taking its place in African football was evident at the AFCON 2023 where Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan officiated three matches, a feat that made him the first Somali referee this century to officiate an AFCON match.

Also, to highlight another factor of how not playing a football match at home for 38 years has stifled the progress of Somali football, Somalia did not play an international friendly match between 1986 and 2008, and even after they ended that hiatus, their first four friendly matches was were against Djibouti in Djibouti before contesting three more friendly encounters against Niger, Sierra Leone, and Libya in 2023 in Morocco.

It goes without saying that suffering elimination at the Preliminary Round of AFCON qualifiers and failing to play friendly matches on a regular basis means that there are so many countries that Somalia has not played against.

However, the new format for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification which does not require playing of a Preliminary Round means that on this occasion, Somalia is guaranteed to play at least 10 matches during a FIFA World Cup qualification phase.

70,000 fans attended the game between Mogadishu City Club and Horseed FC at Mogadishu stadium in Somalia on Friday. pic.twitter.com/w7Pn97NCEK

— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) July 18, 2021

This development means that Somalia will get an opportunity to test their might against higher ranked countries like Algeria, Botswana, Guinea, and Mozambique, who together with fellow CECAFA member Uganda, are their opponents in Group G.

CAF is yet to update its list of stadiums approved to host 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier matches and with the next matchday scheduled to take place in June, there is probably enough time for Somalia to get Mogadishu Stadium ready for use, that is assuming CAF considers Somalia to have stabilized enough politically to host international football matches.

A return of international matches to Somalia will sure be welcomed with so much joy. Somalis, as witnessed in matches played by Somalia in the CECAFA region, are passionate supporters of their national team and the prospect of singing their national anthem at the Mogadishu Stadium is one that will throw the whole country into a frenzy.

Mogadishu Stadium Somalia pic.twitter.com/UhRz5ZTMd4

— Fortunately Blessed (@BoomThatsGenius) February 19, 2024

It would be even more historic if the return of international football matches to Somalia is marked with a victory. Somalia’s last victory in front of their own fans was on November 9, 1984, when they defeated Kenya 1-0 in an AFCON 1986 qualifier match.

Since that match against Uganda in 1986, Somalia has played 83 international matches recognised by CAF and FIFA. In the 49 matches before that, The Ocean Stars played in front of a home crowd only 10 times. Certainly, the wait for home match number 11 is one that Somalia hopes will end soon and when it finally does, when The Ocean Stars win, draw, or lose, there is nothing that will match the wave of excitement generated by the Somali people – their boys will have returned home.