Women's football in Somalia

[1] However, Somalia does not have a women's national football team with FIFA recognition, and have never played in a single international fixture.

[7] Women's football in Africa in general faces several challenges, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women in the wider society, and fundamental inequality present in the society that occasionally allows for female specific human rights abuses.

[8] At the same time, if quality female players in Africa are developed, many, including Somalis, leave their home countries to seek greater football opportunities in places like Northern Europe or the United States.

Attempting to commercialise the game is not the solution, as demonstrated by the many youth and women's football camps held on the continent leading to improvements in player skill and increased interest in the sport.

[1] In 2005, football was seen as a way to potentially help rebuild the country, with the concept having support from Somali women living abroad.

[14] Rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup in the country were bought by Al Jazeera,[15] despite the government having banned people from watching the men's competition in 2006 which resulted in several deaths.

[19] On 8 July 2019 Golden Girls FC from Mogadishu became the first Somali women’s football team to play an international match.