Tuesday December 16, 2025
FILE - Spectators fill the stands during a match at a previous Federal Member States football tournament in Somalia, as security personnel stand watch inside the stadium. The annual competition has drawn large crowds in recent years but has faced growing disputes over governance and organization.
Mogadishu (HOL) — In a decision that speaks as much to the politics of power as to the game itself, South West, Jubaland and Galmudug have withdrawn from Somalia’s Federal Member States football tournament, accusing the Somali Football Federation of mismanagement, a lack of accountability and failing to provide even the most basic support needed to sustain a national competition.
The coordinated boycott poses a major challenge to the national competition and intensifies a widening dispute over leadership and governance within Somalia’s football administration.
Galmudug’s football federation focused its criticism on Somali Football Federation President Ali Shiino, accusing him of failing to meet the basic demands of the role and questioning his authority to run a national competition. Officials said he has neglected domestic leagues and regional tournaments while publicly advancing what they described as unfounded claims that federal member states do not support their own football associations.
Jubaland officials struck a similar note. At a news conference in Kismayo, Jubaland Football Association Chairman Ahmed Abdullahi Ahmed, known as Qaldaan, said the national federation has offered little more than promises, providing no meaningful technical support to the region.
He pointed to the absence of coaching programs, sports equipment and structured player development, saying Jubaland had little incentive to take part in a tournament that, as currently organized, falls short of basic standards of fairness and cooperation.
In South West State, the Ministry of Youth and Sports confirmed its decision in a statement issued in coordination with the South West State Football Federation, citing a lack of transparency, unresolved administrative disputes and the absence of a clear and equitable framework for running the competition.
The statement said South West remains committed to sports development and youth engagement and is open to future participation if reforms are introduced. It called for stronger accountability and closer cooperation between the national federation and federal member states.
The boycott comes on the heels of a growing debate over governance within the Somali Football Federation, raising questions about the future of inter-state competitions and public confidence in the country’s sports institutions.