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Djibouti national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Djibouti women's national football team.

Djibouti
Nickname(s)Riverains de la Mer Rouge (Shoremen of the Red Sea)
AssociationDjiboutian Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCECAFA
(East & Central Africa)
Head coachAbdourahman Okie Hadi
CaptainMahdi Houssein Mahabeh
Most capsAli Youssouf Farada
Daoud Wais (34)
Top scorerSamuel Akinbinu (8)
Home stadiumEl Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium
FIFA codeDJI
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 191 Steady (19 December 2024)[1]
Highest169 (December 1994)
Lowest203 (April–July 2015, November 2015)
First international
 French Somaliland 0–5 Ethiopia 
(French Somaliland; 5 December 1947)
Post-independence
 Ethiopia 8–1 Djibouti 
(Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 27 March 1983)
Biggest win
 Djibouti 4–1 South Yemen 
(Djibouti City, Djibouti; 26 February 1988)
 Djibouti 3–0 Mauritius 
(Djibouti City, Djibouti; 23 November 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Uganda 10–1 Djibouti 
(Kigali, Rwanda; 9 December 2001)
 Rwanda 9–0 Djibouti 
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; 13 December 2007)
CECAFA Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1994)
Best resultGroup stage (1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019)

The Djibouti national football team, nicknamed the "Riverains de la Mer Rouge" (lit. 'Shoremen of the Red Sea'), is the national football team of Djibouti. It is controlled by the Djiboutian Football Federation and is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The Djibouti national football team's first win in a full FIFA-sanctioned international match was a 1–0 win vs. Somalia in the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

History

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French Somaliland (1947–1960)

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Djibouti played its first international match under the name French Somaliland, at home against neighbouring Ethiopia on 5 December 1947 and lost 5–0. This was also Ethiopia's debut.[3] The two played again in Djibouti on 1 June 1948 and Ethiopia won 2–1. On 1 May 1949, the fixture was played for the Emperor Cup in Ethiopia, and the host won 6–0. In 1954, Djibouti played Ethiopia three times: a 10–2 away loss on 1 May, a 2–0 home loss on 1 June and a 2–1 home loss the day after. Djibouti did not play a match again until 1960, when it entered a tournament for French-speaking countries held in Madagascar. The team lost 9–2 in the first round to Cameroon on 13 April. This was the squad's last game as French Somaliland.

Djibouti (1977–present)

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After gaining independence in 1977, the team played under the name Djibouti for the first time against Ethiopia in an away match on 27 March 1983 and lost 8–1. The two played again two days later with Ethiopia again victorious, by 4–2. After a third friendly against Ethiopia, a 2–0 home defeat on 23 March 1984, Djibouti entered a tournament in Ethiopia against the host and Zimbabwe. They lost 2–0 to Ethiopia on 3 June and then 3–1 to Zimbabwe on 7 June.

Djibouti's first appearance at the CECAFA Cup, a local competition for nations in East and Central Africa, was in Kenya in 1994. These were its first matches since defeating South Yemen in 1988. The Djibouti squad lost 4–1 to the hosts on 28 November, 2–1 to Somalia on 1 December, and 3–0 to Tanzania on 3 December. Djibouti did not advance to the next round.

After the 1994 CECAFA Cup, Djibouti did not play a match until the qualification campaign for the 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Kenya, and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 31 July 1998. The second leg at home was lost 9–1 on 15 August and Kenya went through 12–1 on aggregate.

In 1998, Djibouti became a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The football squad has since participated in the Arab Games, a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab World.

Djibouti entered its first ever World Cup qualification in an attempt to reach the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. In Pool D of the first round of African qualification, it was drawn against the DR Congo in a two-legged qualifying preliminary. Djibouti hosted the first leg at Stade du Ville in Djibouti on 7 April 2000, drawing the match 1–1 before a crowd of 2,700 fans.[4] The squad lost the second leg 9–1 away at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa and the DR Congo advanced 10–2 on aggregate.[5]

Djibouti has never played in the African Cup of Nations, with the team regularly withdrawing or not entering for financial reasons.

Prior to their four preliminary qualifiers in late 2019, Djibouti had 2 wins, 3 draws and 55 defeats from 60 competitive matches. However, a number of new players were called up and results finally improved. First, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, Djibouti beat Eswatini 2–1 at home and drew 0–0 in Manzini to advance to the second round for the first time since the 2010 qualifying when they beat Somalia 1-0 (2–1 on aggregate). This was a massive improvement from the previous edition when Djibouti had also played Eswatini and lost 8–1 on aggregate. One month later, Djibouti played two 1–1 draws against Gambia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round, only losing the tie on penalties.

Results and fixtures

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Main article: Djibouti national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

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9 January Friendly Equatorial Guinea  1–1  Djibouti Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
15:00 UTC+1
  • Akapo 23'
 Report
Stadium: Estadio de Malabo
20 March 2025 AFCON qualification Djibouti  0–2  Liberia Marrakech, Morocco
22:00 UTC±0 Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Referee: Mehrez Melki (Tunisia)
26 March 2025 AFCON qualification Liberia  0–0
(2–0 agg.)		  Djibouti Monrovia, Liberia
16:00 UTC±0 Report Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
Referee: Karim Sabry (Morocco)
Note: Liberia won 2–0 on aggregate.
5 June 2026 World Cup qualification Sierra Leone  2–1  Djibouti El Jadida, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium
Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi)
9 June 2026 World Cup qualification Djibouti  1–1  Ethiopia El Jadida, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Chelanget Sabila (Uganda)
27 October 2024 CHAN qualification Djibouti  1–0  Rwanda Kigali (Rwanda)
15:00 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Amahoro Stadium
31 October 2024 CHAN qualification Rwanda  3–0  Djibouti Kigali
18:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Amahoro Stadium

Coaches

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Name Nat Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Win %
Mohamed Bader Djibouti 1998? – Dec 2001 15 0 2 13 0.00%
Ahmed Hussein Djibouti Oct 2007 – Dec 2007 4 1 0 3 25.00%
Mohamed Abar Djibouti Jan 2008 – Jun 2008 4 0 0 4 0.00%
Ahmed Abdelmonem Egypt Jul 2008 – Jul 2010 11 0 1 10 0.00%
Noureddine Gharsalli Tunisia Oct 2011 – Jul 2016 5 0 0 5 0.00%
Michael Gibson[6] England Jul 2016 – Apr 2017 4 1 0 3 25.00%
Moussa Ghassoum Mauritania Dec 2017 – Apr 2019 5 0 0 5 0.00%
Julien Mette France Apr 2019 – Oct 2021 13 3 3 7 23.08%
Mohamed Meraneh Hassan Djibouti Oct 2021 – Jan 2022 6 1 0 5 25.00%
Abdourahman Okie Hadi Djibouti Jan 2022 - present 2 2 2 0 20.00%

Players

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Current squad

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The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Sierra Leone and Ethiopia on 5 and 9 June 2024.[7]

Caps and goals are correct as of 9 June 2024, after the match against Ethiopia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Sulait Luyima (1993-11-04) 4 November 1993 (age 31) 6 0 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
1GK Moktar Youssouf Said (2004-10-12) 12 October 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Djibouti Dikhil
1GK Aboubaker Guedi (1987-10-02) 2 October 1987 (age 37) 0 0 Djibouti SDC Group
2DF Ali Youssouf Farada (1995-08-25) 25 August 1995 (age 29) 34 1 Djibouti AS Port
2DF Yabe Siad (1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 (age 26) 25 1 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
2DF Warsama Ibrahim Aden (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 26) 22 1 Djibouti AS Port
2DF Moussa Araita (1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 (age 27) 19 0 Djibouti AS Port
2DF Fouad Moussa Robleh (1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 31) 15 1 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
2DF Moustapha Abdi Osman (1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 (age 32) 8 0 Djibouti Garde Républicaine FC
2DF Ibrahim Idriss Mohamed (2002-11-14) 14 November 2002 (age 22) 5 0 Djibouti ASAS Djibouti Télécom
2DF Abdillahi Elmi (2003-03-19) 19 March 2003 (age 21) 4 0 Djibouti ASAS Djibouti Télécom
2DF Djimaleh Awaleh Kayad (1995-10-20) 20 October 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Djibouti Gendarmerie
3MF Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh (1991-11-11) 11 November 1991 (age 33) 30 1 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
3MF Hamza Abdi Idleh (1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 (age 33) 27 2 Djibouti Dikhil
3MF Ahmed Mohamed Aden (1990-12-04) 4 December 1990 (age 34) 8 0 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
3MF Ramadan Abdi Abdillahi (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Djibouti ASAS Djibouti Télécom
3MF Awaleh Hoch Gedo (2001-10-18) 18 October 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Djibouti Garde Républicaine FC
4FW Samuel Akinbinu (1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 25) 21 8 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
4FW Ahmed Youssouf Omar (1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 (age 26) 12 0 Djibouti AS Port
4FW Gabriel Dadzie (1997-03-06) 6 March 1997 (age 27) 13 5 Djibouti Arta Solar 7
4FW Mahad Abdi (1999-07-11) 11 July 1999 (age 25) 7 0 Djibouti Garde Républicaine FC
4FW Moktar Hassan (1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Djibouti ASAS Djibouti Télécom
3MF Zakaria Abdi Mouhoumed (2000-04-23) 23 April 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Djibouti SDC Group

Recent call-ups

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The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Innocent Mbonihankuye (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 28) 25 0 Djibouti Espereance v.  Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2023
DF Idriss Houmed Bilha (1997-08-27) 27 August 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Djibouti Arta Solar 7 v.  Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024
MF Warsama Hassan (1999-03-17) 17 March 1999 (age 25) 25 2 Djibouti Arta Solar 7 v.  Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024
FW Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh (1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 28) 29 7 Djibouti Arta Solar 7 v.  Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024
FW Mohamed Fouad Mohamed (2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 24) 18 1 Djibouti Arta Solar 7 v.  Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024
FW Omar Abdallah (2002-10-30) 30 October 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Djibouti Garde Républicaine v.  Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024

Player records

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As of 9 June 2024[8]
Players in bold are still active with Djibouti.

Most appearances

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Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Ali Youssouf Farada 34 1 2017–present
Daoud Wais 34 1 2008–2021
3 Daher Mohamed Kadar [it] 33 1 2006–2017
4 Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh 30 1 2016–present
5 Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh 29 7 2016–present
6 Hamza Abdi Idleh 27 2 2016–present
7 Warsama Hassan 25 2 2019–present
Innocent Mbonihankuye 25 0 2019–present
Yabe Siad 25 1 2019–present
10 Guedi Hassan 23 0 2007–2016

Top goalscorers

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Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Samuel Akinbinu 8 21 0.38 2021–present
2 Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh 7 29 0.24 2016–present
3 Gabriel Dadzie 5 13 0.38 2022–present
4 Ahmed Daher 3 13 0.23 2007–2009
5 Ahmed Daoud 2 3 0.67 2011
Abdourahman Okieh Hadi 2 3 0.67 2005–2006
Arid Ahmed Mohamed 2 5 0.4 1999–2000
Mohamed Liban 2 17 0.12 2008–2015
Warsama Hassan 2 25 0.08 2019–present
Hamza Abdi Idleh 2 27 0.07 2016–present

Competition records

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Ethiopia – List of International Matches". RSSSF.com. Barrie Courtney and RSSSF. 3 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Djibouti – Congo DR". Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  5. ^ "Congo DR – Djibouti". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  6. ^ "Football Manager proves England and Wayne Rooney don't need Gareth Southgate to beat Malta". Metro. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Final Squad". Facebook. Fédération Djiboutienne de Football. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Djibouti". National Football Teams.
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