On Tuesday, Somalia’s Ministry of Internal Security issued a directive suspending the election for the presidency of the Somali Football Federation (SFF).
The SFF is the governing organisation in charge of football development and promotion. The Somali Football Federation (SFF) organises a number of leagues, tournaments, and national teams, including the Somali Premier League, the Somalia Cup, and the Somalia national football team.
The poll, slated for Tuesday at Mogadishu’s Hotel Elite, was cancelled when the Ministry of Youth and Sports expressed concern that SFF members planned to stage two competing “parallel” votes.
Somalia’s sports ministry proposed delaying voting on Monday in order to maintain the integrity of the elections.
“The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports is responsible for safeguarding the unity of the sports community. This involves guaranteeing the stability and legitimacy of Somali sports associations’ elections.”
“The ministry preserves the independence of the Somali football association and avoids interference or individual abuse of authority of the association. Somali football faces division, according to the ministry. According to information obtained by the government, opposing parties planned to organise parallel elections for the same leadership positions.
“The ministry warns against any crisis that may result from the ongoing conflict and directs the cessation of any ongoing activities that are not in mutual agreement.
“As a result, the sports ministry has informed the Ministry of Internal Security that the parallel elections set for February 1, 2023 would be cancelled.”
Other SFF members accused the SFF’s current President, Ali Abdi Mohamed (Ali Shiine), of seeking to hold a “rigged election” in which he would win.
Wish Haji Yabow, the son of previous Basketball Federation president Aden Haji Yabow, is the only candidate for SFF president.
Shiine’s predecessor, Abdiqani Said Arab, was fired without cause during an extraordinary congress in December 2021. He formally resigned a month later, after FIFA dispatched a delegation to Mogadishu to hear all sides’ accusations. Arab was chosen for the first time in 2014, after serving as Secretary General for over a decade. He was re-elected unopposed in November 2018, and his term was set to conclude in 2022.
Football enthusiasts believe that whoever wins must make a deliberate effort to combat corruption in the SSF, which has hampered Somali football progress. Corruption in the SFF is multifaceted, encompassing a variety of unlawful behaviours like as bribery, embezzlement, and mishandling of funds. The corruption has resulted in a lack of openness in the company, as well as resource misallocation and the disruption of many programmes and efforts.
