Somali president welcomes boxer Ramla Ali, casting sports as a bridge to a hopeful future
MOGADISHU — In a carefully staged encounter that mixed ceremony with symbolism, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday welcomed Ramla Ali — the Somali-born, UK-raised boxer who made history as the first Somali to compete in the Olympics — to the presidential palace in Mogadishu.
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The meeting was brief but pointed: Ali received a certificate of honor from the presidency and words of praise that turned an individual sporting achievement into a national narrative. “Ramla Ali represents the strength, resilience, and pride of our nation,” the president said in a statement issued by his office, praising her for flying the Somali flag in international arenas and for inspiring the country’s young people.
A personal victory made national
For Ali, who left Somalia as a child and grew up and trained in the United Kingdom, this was more than a diplomatic photo op. It was a homecoming. Her presence on the world stage — from professional rings to the Olympic mat — has made her a familiar figure to Somalis at home and in the diaspora, a living reminder that talent displaced by conflict and migration can still reflect glory onto a homeland that is often defined in world headlines by violence and instability.
Somalia’s political leaders have in recent years sought to rehabilitate the country’s image internationally, while also trying to knit together national unity at home. Honoring a diasporic athlete — and a woman — is a low-cost, high-visibility way to signal a different story: one about resilience, ambition and the possibilities of a new generation.
Sporting diplomacy in a country rebuilding
Sport has long been used by fragile and recovering states as a tool of soft power. For Somalia, still grappling with insurgency, recurrent droughts and fragile state institutions, athletes like Ali are practical symbols of a different national storyline — one that emphasizes achievement rather than victimhood, participation rather than exclusion.
Across Africa and the wider global south, diasporic athletes increasingly choose to represent ancestral homelands at major competitions. That trend reflects both personal identity and geopolitics: competing for a country with a smaller sporting infrastructure can offer a clearer path to the Olympics and global stages, while also encouraging investment in local sport programs. For Somalia, Ali’s profile brings attention — and perhaps funding — to boxing gyms and youth programs that otherwise struggle for visibility.
Women, sport and social change
Ali’s prominence carries particular significance for Somali women and girls. Somalia remains a deeply conservative society in many areas, with limited opportunities for women in public life. A woman from Somalia’s diaspora, competing internationally and advocating for causes beyond sport, challenges stereotypes at several levels.
Her recognition in Mogadishu may be read as an attempt to broaden ideas about female participation in public life, but it also raises questions: will symbolic honors translate into more access for girls to sports facilities, coaching and safe public spaces to train? Or will such moments remain largely ceremonial, isolated from the daily realities of women in Somalia’s towns and camps?
Why the moment matters — and what it might lead to
There are small, pragmatic reasons leaders celebrate figures like Ali. They are useful in domestic politics, offering a unifying figure who transcends clan and factional lines. They are useful abroad, presenting a softer image to investors and donors. And they can be useful to young people, who need role models who have navigated migration, education and global competition.
But beyond immediate optics, the bigger question is structural: can recognition be converted into policy? Can Ali’s honor help catalyze programs for youth sport, public-private partnerships to rebuild sporting facilities, or platforms for returning diaspora experts to train Somali coaches and administrators?
Other countries provide models. After civil conflict, nations such as Rwanda and Colombia used sport not merely for morale but as a deliberate strategy to promote reconciliation, healthy lifestyles and tourism. Somalia’s leaders could draw on those examples, pairing high-profile honors with long-term commitments: funding community sports centers, creating safe spaces for girls to train, and supporting local leagues that can be feeders for national teams.
Voices from home and abroad
For many Somalis watching, whether in Mogadishu, Hargeisa or in diaspora neighborhoods in London and Minneapolis, Ali’s visit felt like a welcome piece of hopeful news. “To see one of our own celebrated at home is uplifting,” said a Mogadishu teacher who asked not to be named because of security concerns. “It reminds people that Somalia is more than a headline.”
At the same time, some activists caution against mistaking recognition for reform. “Honors are powerful symbols,” said a Somali sports organizer based in Nairobi. “But we need systems — coaches, safe facilities, leagues and funding — to turn inspiration into opportunity.”
Looking ahead
Ramla Ali’s appearance at the presidential palace is emblematic of wider global trends: the increasing visibility of diasporic talent, the use of sport as diplomacy, and the slow but persistent push for women’s greater role in societies emerging from conflict. It is a story that invites practical follow-up: will Somali institutions seize the moment to invest in youth and women’s sport, or will they allow the memory of Saturday’s ceremony to fade into the archive of symbolic gestures?
For a nation where more than half the population is under 25, the stakes are clear. Young people are watching. They are asking whether national recognition can translate into training rings and running tracks in their neighborhoods, into coaches who can mentor them, and into pathways that turn promise into profession. If Ramla Ali’s visit can be the first bell in a longer campaign to widen opportunity through sport, the impact could be felt for years to come.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
