As the Somali Football Federation has recently expanded its activities throughout the country, its general secretary Abdi Qani Said Arab held a press conference in Mogadishu on Monday to give details about what has been achieved since the start of this year and the obstacles that still face the federation.

Abdi Qani first briefed on the recent trips of SFF officials to some African, Asian and Erupean nations and finally to the Somali semia-utonomous state of Puntland which will host the 18th inter-regional football games slated for 15-31 December this year.

He said that despite the country’s insecurity the SFF continued its daily activities in the whole nation but conceded that the construction work of the old stadium in Mogadishu which was halted for security reasons will soon be restarted.

The general secretary added that on July 27 he met with the project manager of the Dutch-based international construction company Green Field and during the meeting they mutually understood each other that a big joint work is needed to complete the construction of Somalia’s oldest football facility the stadium Banadir before the end of this year.

“The construction work has been done by 50% and then it stalled because of the city’s insecurity and as you know the stadium is in the Abdel Aziz district (in Mogadishu) where no one can work or live because of the daiy armed confrontations it experiences” the secretary general added.

“We are very hopefull that Mogadishu’s security will change and the stadium rebuilding will be completed by the year’s end” he noted.

The reconstruction of stadium Banadir started late in July 2008 and was supposed to be completed by early this year but the insecurity in Mogadishu has been one of the major difficulties that caused the work to halt.

“I call on the Somali football fans to be tolerant and they will have their stadium rebuilt by the end of this year” the SFF secretary general stated.

Meanwhile, the secretary general spoke about the recent visit by SFF officials to the Puntland where they met with the regional president Abdurahman Mahmoud Faroole and his deputy Abdi samad Ali Shire who promised that the Puntand region is committed to doing every thing to help develop Somali sport which is reviving from 19 years of conflict.

“On behalf of the SFF which is responsible for all Somalia I send huge thanks to the president of the Somali state of Puntland Abdurahman Faroole, his government and people for their kind offer to host players and authorities from entire Somalia during December’s Somali inter-regional football tournament” Abdi Qani Said.

In other developments, the secretary general said that an international level coaching course for Somali football coaches will be held in Djibouti from 25 to 31 October this year at which they will be taught by FIFA instructors.

“We will hold the course in Djibouti because in Somalia we cannot host such high level instructors” he said adding that Somalia has rights for such course each year but the insecurity in Somalia was the main obstacle.

Somalia has not had a functioning central government for nearly two decades and the country’s infrustures and governmental institutions have virtually aa been completely destroyed, but the Somali Olympic Committee and its affiliated federations of which football is the major one have been representing the lawless nation in international sporting events since then.

 

Somali Football Media Department

 

Email:Somalifootballmedia@gmail.com

 

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