Football

Historic milestone as Somalia hosts first women’s football match

SWF and SSC ladies exchange pleasantries before the game © CECAFA

By Rama Mohammed | Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Somalia recently witnessed its first-ever women's football match as SWF annd SSC battled during the World International Women's Day

The world Football governing body, FIFA has welcomed the move by Somalia to finally start engaging with women’s Football.

On March 8th, 2024 women’s football was finally played in the capital Mogadishu to commemorate International Women’s Day with Futsal match. SWF women’s football team, defeated their rivals of SSC by 3-1 in the maiden women’s futsal match, which fully broke the barriers that once prevented Somali women from playing football.

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Gelson Vernandes, the FIFA director for member associations Africa welcomed that Somali women are now officially playing football. “We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to the Somali Football Federation for the activities organized, particularly to mark International Women’s Day. It is admirable to see such openness and to allow women to play and enjoy this sport. This initiative demonstrates a strong desire to promote gender equality and inclusion in football,” said Vernandes.

President of the Somali Football Federation (SFF), Ali Abdi Mohamed also praised the Women’s committee in the Federation of organizing the match to ensure women’s football officially starts in Somalia.

“I am really overjoyed that my long-standing dreams have become true. The futsal match was the start of a series of activities for the girls and young women who have been well involved in training programs for the past several months. Our aim is to see Somali women being fully active in the international football calendar very soon, added the President.

Ibtisam Yassin, the SFF head of Women’s football also said they are pleased that the department was able to organize a futsal match after several months of trainings and awareness workshops for both parents and girls.

“Our efforts paid off and we will continue organizing the awareness workshops for parents and girls plus the training programs, as this strategy has yielded positive results,” she added.

The head of Communication in SFF, Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar pointed out that having women’s football start in Somalia is a real sig of removal of cultural barriers.

“In Somalia, women have never played official football due to cultural barriers, as Somali parents never allowed their daughters to play football, because Somali parents recognized women’s football “the worst shame” and crime against Somali culture and religion, but after months of awareness workshops some parents have allowed their daughters to play the game,” added Abokar.

He also made it clear that now the awareness workshops are part of the SFF strategy to develop women’s football and overcome the cultural barriers that once prevented Somali women getting the opportunity to play the game.