# Women's football in Somalia: from the first match to the national team

> Women's football in Somalia: registration figures since 2000, restrictions on women's sport, Golden Girls FC, the first tournament in 2024 and the national team's first match in 2025.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/society/somali-womens-football/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## No team for decades

For most of its history Somalia had no FIFA-recognised women's team, senior or youth, and played no FIFA-sanctioned women's game. It did not enter the 2010 African Women's Championship or the 2011 All-Africa Games, and in March 2012 it had no FIFA women's ranking ([Women's football in Somalia, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_football_in_Somalia); [CAF, 2010 results](http://www.cafonline.com/competition/african-women-championship_2010/results)).

## Players in numbers

FIFA figures cited by Wikipedia show 280 registered women and girl players in 2000, 1,435 in 2005, and 220 in 2006. In 2006 there were also 175 registered and 440 unregistered women futsal players. Of 450 adult teams, 8 were open to women in mixed teams and 6 were women only ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_football_in_Somalia); [FIFA women's football factsheet](https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/women/93/77/21/factsheets.pdf)). Girls and boys do not play mixed football in schools.

## Restrictions

Wikipedia, citing [Sudan](/en/diaspora/sudan/) Tribune reports, records that armed Islamist groups inside Somalia restricted what women could do, including playing sport, and that a 2006 ban on watching the men's World Cup led to several deaths ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_football_in_Somalia); [Sudan Tribune](http://www.sudantribune.com/Somali-Islamic-militiamen,16576)). On 4 April 2012 the president of the Somali Football Federation, Said Mohamed Nur, and the head of the Somali Olympic Committee were killed in a suicide bombing at the National Theatre in Mogadishu ([BBC News, April 2012](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-17609047)).

## Firsts

- **8 July 2019:** Golden Girls FC of Mogadishu became the first Somali women's team to play an international match, losing 3–0 to Queen Lozikeyi Academy of Zimbabwe at the Human Rights Cup ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_football_in_Somalia); [Beyond 90](https://beyond90.com.au/somali-womens-football-makes-history/)).
- **8 March 2024:** women's football was played in Mogadishu under the federation for the first time, a futsal match for International Women's Day ([CECAFA](https://cecafaonline.com/womens-football-finally-played-in-somalia/)).
- **30 October to 10 November 2024:** the first women's football tournament in Somalia, backed by FIFA's Covid-19 relief plan. The federation also set out a women's football strategy with plans for a women's league and regional and youth competitions ([FIFA](https://inside.fifa.com/womens-football/news/somalia-womens-football-1st-tournament-covid-19-relief)).
- **2025:** a Somali girls' under-17 club was entered in CECAFA's first under-17 girls' tournament but withdrew ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_football_in_Somalia); [CECAFA](https://cecafaonline.com/eight-teams-set-to-battle-in-inaugural-caf-u-17-girls-tournament/)).
- **24 October 2025:** the women's national team played its first match, in Djibouti, losing 4–1 to Djibouti's Les Gazelles in a series of friendlies ([Somalia women's national football team, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia_women%27s_national_football_team); [FTL Somalia](https://www.ftlsomalia.com/somali-national-womens-football-teams-depart-for-djibouti-for-friendly-matches/)).

## Djibouti's help

Women in Djibouti, where women's football grew from the late 2000s, worked to help Somali women play ([Hiiraan Online, October 2009](http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2009/oct/women_football_vastly_growing_in_djibouti.aspx)).

## Read more

- [Somalia national football team](/en/society/somalia-national-football-team/)
- [Somali Football Federation](/en/society/somali-football-federation/)
- [Women in Somali society](/en/society/women-in-somali-society/)
- [Sport in Somalia](/en/society/sport-in-somalia/)

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