2 minute read
Message of the president
We have come to the successful end of 2016, a year in which a number of development programs had been carried out in the country including some that were unprecedented and helped develop the game in our country. I am thankful to FIFA president Gianni Infantino for coming with new initiatives to accelerate football development in the world and in particularly in Somalia where the new FIFA development programs have been very helpful.
Now we look forward to the beginning of 2017.I hope it to be a year full of joy, happiness, peace and prosperity for the entire people of Somalia and in particularly for the football family.The inauguration of the first ever regional football league in Somalia was a milestone, but we have not yet come to the end of the long way and the planned activities are more. In 2017 Somalia is determined to make new approaches both locally and internationally. Another significant move in 2017 will be the launch of Division 4 football league which is mainly intended to get more youths into the game. After past attempts were successful, now all clubs in the elite national league will also have their own junior national league and the SFF will provide all financial assistances to help the formation of the junior teams and the league as well.
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By the end of 2016, SFF launched a different competition, the domestic youth league with 12 teams in participation. This league will increase to 14 teams from 2017 and it will be an annual event for our youths.
As planned the SFF will get artificial turfs installed on football facilities in the regional states of the federal government of Somalia as part of the Spread the Football initiative which has so far yielded positive results in many regions in the country.
Participation of international competitions
From 2017, Somali Football Federation will increase its participation in international football competitions including some that Somalia had never participated. According to our plans, Somalia will be involved in the below-mentioned competitions. • African Nations Championship-CHAN CUP 2017 Also in 2018 Somalia will start participating in a number
of key competitions in Africa which include. • African Cup of Nations qualifications. • CAF champions league. • Confederation Cup.
This will be Somalia’s first attempt to participate in African Cup of Nations Qualifications phase since the country fell into anarchy just more than 26 years ago. After we have confirmed our recovery from decades of civil wars and lawlessness, it is time to do a try and I hope it will be a successful attempt for the country.
