In what seems to be a 'test' for Somalia's hosting of an international match at home after decades of wars, the country's junior national team welcomed foreign players in the country at Stadium Banadir, beating them 1-0 on Monday.

The friendly match was part of the Somali U-23 Squad’s preparations for the 2016 world Olympic Games qualifiers before they take on Rwanda in the first leg on April 25 in Kigali.

The Ocean Stars juniors got their winning goal when its young striker Mohamed Ali Ibrahim (No 10) managed to score from a corner kick in the 85^thminute of the match.

Somali Football Federation president, Abdiqani Said Arab, said that Monday’s match was mainly intended to pave the way for Somalia’s long-standing ambitions of hosting international matches at home.

"Last year a dozen foreign players were here, but this year the number has doubled and we are hopeful that more others will arrive for the next season” Somali FA president Abdiqani Said Arab said. "The stay of foreign players in the country will also encourage our players to have an ambition to play outside homeland”. The president continued to say.

At the moment, the expectations are high in Somalia where peace is slowly returning after more than two decades of bloodshed and lack of a functioning government. A number of local football clubs are now planning to hire foreign coaches; a move that SFF believes will make football in Somalia more ‘tasteful’.

In Somalia, there are currently nearly 20 foreign players including some from Kenya, Uganda and as far as Nigeria.

Somali Football Federation Media Department

Email:info@somsoccer.com