Somaliland national football team

The Somaliland national football team is the football team that represents Somaliland, a self-declared republic internationally recognised as a de facto state. Although Somaliland is a de facto state, it has not yet received international de jure recognition. Somaliland is not a member of FIFA or the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Instead, it is an associate member of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA), an association established in 2014 of teams from dependencies, unrecognised states, minorities, stateless peoples, and regions that are not affiliated with FIFA.^[2][3][4]

The Somaliland national team's first known match was on 6 November 2002 against Ethiopia, ending in a 1–2 loss;^[5] however, their first "proper" international match was a 2–2 draw against Sealand, played on 17 May 2014 in London, England.^[6]

The Somaliland Football Association runs a national league consisting of 12 semi-professional clubs, sponsored or backed by both public and private organisations. The Association also holds a biannual inter-regional football tournament, in which all 13 regions participate in group stages held across the country, with the final four group winners contesting the semi-finals in the capital, Hargeisa.

Following ConIFA's annual conference, the Somaliland national team was invited to compete at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup (hosted by Abkhazia), which became their first appearance at an international tournament.^[7][8]

Somaliland was drawn into Group D alongside Panjab and Sápmi. Somaliland lost their opening game against Sápmi with a score of 5–0,^[9] and lost again to Panjab 5–0, resulting in Somaliland finishing at the bottom of Group D.

In Placement Round 1, Somaliland won 3–2 against the Chagos Islands to advance to Placement Round 2. In their Placement Round 2 match against Székely Land, Somaliland lost 3–10, placing tenth out of twelve teams.^[10]

Somaliand FIFA application is currently pending.Recognition is gaining momentum If recognised as a separate country, Somaliland could join the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and CECAFA. FIFA membership in 2025 is pending international recognition, with plans to host Confederation of African Football matches at Hargesia stadium capital of Somaliland republic once recognized by united nations.

Hargeysa National Stadium is the home of the national team and has a capacity of 30,000.^[11]

^[12]

Sources:^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

• Somaliland

• Somaliland Football Association on Facebook
• Somaliland Champions League on Facebook