SFF blamed for Somalia’s loss to Oman in FIFA Arab Cup fixture
NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali Football Federation [SFF] was blamed for the national team’s loss to Oman on Sunday, in a match that showed quality glimpses for a team that rarely trains or plays fitness matches but is expected to compete with the rest of the world.
Despite all the challenges, the team lost 2-1 to Oman, the latter becoming the second team to triumph at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in a match that was played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Ranked 80th in the world and facing a 117-place inferior team, the Omanis were big favorites for the tie – and justified that status with an impressive performance in the first half.
Mohsen Al-Ghasani rebounded to give them an 11th-minute lead, which was doubled 25 minutes later when the same player got a penalty which was coldly converted by Salaah Al Yahyaei.
Somalia, however, showed real spirit in the second half and delivered a dramatic final after rightly cutting the deficit in half thanks to a superb down header from Abel Gigli. The Oman game the right start for the competition.
Sudan did take the win, however, and will join hosts Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria. and Sudan – who qualified yesterday – in the tournament finals from November 30 to December 18. The remaining qualifiers will determine the remaining five participants in the coming days.
But the outcome of the game may not be a big brother for Somalia, a country struggling to rebuild after years of civil war that has almost thrown systems into disarray. The Somali government is barely functional given the lingering problems, including, but not limited to, violent extremism.
The incompetence of the federation revealed
Ahmed Said Asanyo, ex-captain of the Somali football team, who was among the players who lost the game against Oman last night, was quick to strike a blow at football administrators in the country, the accusing of gross incompetence.
By his own admission, the team deserved more, but it was led by football leaders in Somalia, arguing that the federation has never facilitated training for almost two years now for national team players.
“Oman didn’t beat us, the Somali Football Federation beat us” I’m very disappointed with the result today, the boys worked hard, we deserved more, today we didn’t lose to Oman, we lost to the Somali Football Federation, “the former captain said.
For 18 months without training, the last two days I have rained twice, how do we want to compete with countries like Oman, which has played five games in the “last two weeks? Long live Somalia”, he said. he added in a moved emotion. post after the game.
Abdisamad Abdullahi, current Somali national team captain, also noted the positive points of the game, adding that the team needs more friendlies to improve. Football, he noted, is one of the activities that can unite the Somali people.
“This game was very difficult. Oman plays regularly, they want to improve their football. But we have shown our quality and our class, we are not a small football nation. We need more games, we have problems in our country, but it is football that can bring us together, ”he said.
Before the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, the country was among the top ranked footballers in East and Central Africa. But with instability and the uncontrollable grafting of the country’s football body, the national team has repeatedly underperformed.
Mass transplant in SFF
Cases of corruption in the national football body are synonymous in Somalia, with the women’s team having been the first to complain a few years ago. The incidents, analysts said, even ruined sport in the Horn of Africa country.
Shaima Mohamed, who has almost singlehandedly championed the cause of women’s football in one of the most volatile countries in the world, told the Guardian: “I don’t know where the money is going.”
Each national federation is entitled to money from Fifa, with $ 100,000 of the $ 500,000 available for operational costs reserved for women’s football, while additional funds are available for travel to women’s tournaments and for projects. specials related to women’s football. The Somali federation did not respond to requests for comment.
Mohamed believes that members of the federation are unwilling to support women’s football because they fear extremists who oppose it. “[They] would have sat down and talked about it and I think they’re scared for their lives, ”she said in an interview a few years ago. “But they are also responsible for helping Fifa’s vision for women’s football.”
The Somali FA women’s football department is indeed inactive. Mohamed said the federation gave him an official title but refused his request for an office, equipment and a free field for training. Girls and women continue to play, especially at the Golden Club academy in Mogadishu, which Mohamed founded and runs.
“We do fundraising to support the teams,” she said. “We do social media campaigns. We receive contributions from the community but we do not have a specific budget that comes back to us each year. I don’t know where the money is going. I don’t know if the federation sent details about my role and information to Fifa. We need formal recognition for Somali women’s football.
She called on Fifa to intervene. “They should do more to make sure we get our funding,” she said. “Fifa needs to be more accountable to every federation in Africa to see if women’s funding is spent on women’s football or something else.
“Fifa could also do more by improving direct communications with the women’s football department. I understand that the federation cannot do much for the women’s departments because they are afraid for their lives but they can give us a little support until we can get up again because we are ready to take the risk and we are ready to fight for what we want. “
And impeccable sources within FIFA have hinted that SFF President Abdiqani Said was summoned to Zurich, the seat in 2019 to shed light on the misuse of the millions of dollars that had been funneled into local organization.
The move follows a briefing by Shaima Mohamed, the head of women’s football who contacted the world’s football governing body to take action, saying the money made available by FIFA to support women’s football in her country did not achieve the intended objective.
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