Former Puntland State football chief detained as leadership feud deepens

Arrest of Puntland State Football Figure Deepens Rift in Somali Soccer

Puntland State’s already fraught football politics spilled into public view on Saturday when security forces detained Mohamed Ali Isse, widely known as Ciiro, at Garowe’s airport as he prepared to board a flight out of the city. Authorities have not announced charges or publicly explained the arrest. Local outlets and football insiders say it may be tied to a leadership struggle inside the Puntland State Football Association, or to alleged political links with officials in Mogadishu.

The timing was striking. As Ciiro was taken into custody, the Somali Football Federation (SFF) executive committee convened in Mogadishu. The national body has refused to recognize a recent Puntland State election that purported to replace Ciiro with Abdihakin Hakiiki. Instead, the SFF continues to regard Ciiro as the legitimate chairman of the regional association, setting up a tense confrontation between local authorities and the sport’s national referees.

A Dispute That Has Split Puntland State Football

What might look at first glance like a sports squabble is anything but routine in Somalia, where football is more than a pastime. In the packed sand pitches of Garowe and Bossaso, teenagers dribble plastic-wrapped balls as if they were leather. A young player’s dream of pulling on a club jersey is as much about belonging and identity as it is about sport. Now that dream is caught in a political crosswind.

The recent Puntland State election delivered a new leader, Hakiiki, amid complaints of interference by the regional Ministry of Youth and Sports. Ciiro accused the ministry of tipping the scales against him and has resisted handing over the association’s offices, records and mandate. Top clubs have picked sides: some recognize the new leadership aligned with regional authorities, others stand with Ciiro and the SFF’s stance from Mogadishu. League planning, youth training calendars and even refereeing assignments have been placed on hold. The practical effect is paralysis: no clear authority to schedule competitions, sign sponsorships or manage disciplinary matters.

National Federation Weighs In

For the SFF, the matter stretches beyond Puntland State. FIFA statutes frown on government interference in the running of national associations and their affiliates. While the SFF is not FIFA, it must demonstrate that it can police political encroachment or risk sanctions that could clip Somalia’s hard-won strides in international football. Somali fans will remember the national team’s cathartic 2019 World Cup qualifier win over Zimbabwe—Somalia’s first ever—played in Djibouti because of security conditions back home. Those moments of progress can be fragile. Administrative infighting has derailed more than one promising footballing story on the continent.

Saturday’s arrest appears likely to sharpen the confrontation. If a regional government is seen to detain a football official over an internal governance dispute, it raises questions about autonomy, due process and oversight in Somalia’s still-evolving federal system. The SFF’s executive committee, meeting in Mogadishu as the news filtered in, has been here before—trying to keep the game on the field while politics presses in from the sidelines.

Politics on the Pitch

Somalia’s political geometry is complex: a federal government with nationwide responsibilities, and member states like Puntland State with their own institutions, budgets and ambitions. In that space, sports associations often mirror larger debates over authority. Who gets to run a regional football association? Who validates the election? And what happens when local and national bodies disagree?

Across Africa, football has long been a proxy battleground. In Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, government meddling has invited warnings or suspensions from FIFA. In North Africa, club rivalries can map onto city politics or even national identity. In Somalia, the calculus is further complicated by security and the country’s youthful demographic—over 70 percent of Somalis are under 30, and football is their daily ritual. When leadership disputes drag on, it’s not boardrooms that suffer most; it’s the kids who turn up to empty fields, coaches without match schedules and the referees awaiting their next assignment.

Garowe residents described a heavy security presence at the airport and confusion among travelers as word spread. The absence of an official explanation has fostered rumor. Some suggest the arrest is purely administrative—an effort to force a handover of offices and documents to new leadership. Others see a wider political dimension, alleging links to federal officials in Mogadishu and long-burning tensions between Puntland State and the center. Without formal charges, all remain conjecture.

Rules of the Game—and What’s at Stake

In the best-run associations, governance is boring by design: clear statutes, transparent elections, and communications that say what they mean. In Somalia’s football ecosystem, the rules matter because they protect the game from the churn of politics. Transparency about who holds office, who has the authority to sign off on competitions, and who can intervene in disputes keeps the focus where it belongs—on the players and the supporters.

Saturday’s developments offer an unwelcome test. If Puntland State’s Ministry of Youth and Sports did influence the election, as Ciiro alleges, then an independent review and a clear corrective path would be needed to restore confidence. If the SFF’s recognition of one side over another is perceived as partisan, it risks deepening regional skepticism of Mogadishu-based institutions. And if security forces are employed to settle an association dispute, even temporarily, it sets a precedent that could chill participation and volunteer leadership across the sporting landscape.

What Comes Next

By late Saturday, there was still no statement from Puntland State authorities about Ciiro’s status, nor any official comment from the SFF beyond its continuing recognition of him as chairman. Hakiiki’s supporters say the election was valid and that football in Puntland State needs fresh leadership to move forward. Ciiro’s camp insists process matters and that the referee—in this case, the national federation—has already blown the whistle.

For players and fans, the questions are practical. Will the new season kick off on time? Who oversees youth development camps this month? Can clubs count on the legitimacy of transfers and match results? For a region that relies on football to bind communities and offer young people a path away from the temptations of militancy and migration, the cost of delay is measured not in headlines but in missed practices and fading dreams.

The quickest way out of the impasse is also the most transparent: an agreed-upon, independently observed process to settle who leads the Puntland State Football Association, coupled with a public recommitment by both the regional ministry and the SFF to keep security and politics off the pitch. Until then, one of Somalia’s favorite games remains paused at midfield, the ball motionless, the referee waiting, and a stadium of young eyes fixed on what happens next.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.