Djibouti national football team

Djibouti
Nickname(s)	Riverains de la Mer Rouge (Shoremen of the Red Sea)
Association	Djiboutian Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	CECAFA; (East & Central Africa)
Head coach	Abdourahman Okie Hadi
Captain	Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh
Most caps	Ali Youssouf Farada ; Daoud Wais (34)
Top scorer	Samuel Akinbinu (8)
Home stadium	El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium
FIFA code	DJI
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	192 (24 October 2024)
Highest	169 (December 1994)
Lowest	203 (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
Appearances	12 (first in 1994)
Best result	Group 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

French Somaliland (1947–1960)

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)

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

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

2023

16 November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification	Egypt	6–0	Djibouti	Cairo, Egypt
18:00 UTC+2	Salah 17', 22' (pen.), 48', 69' Mohamed 73' Trézéguet 89'	Report		Stadium: Cairo International Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Jelly Chavani (South Africa)

20 November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification	Djibouti	0–1	Guinea-Bissau	Cairo, Egypt
15:00 UTC+2		Report	Rodrigues 39'	Stadium: Al Salam Stadium Attendance: 35 Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros)

2024

9 January Friendly	Equatorial Guinea	1–1	Djibouti	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
15:00 UTC+1	Akapo 23'	Report	Akinbinu 71'	Stadium: Estadio de Malabo

20 March 2025 AFCON qualification	Djibouti	0–2	Liberia	Marrakech, Morocco
22:00 UTC±0		Report	Sangare 23' (pen.) Dorley 35'	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	Davies 12' Kargbo 51'	Report	Dadzie 35' (pen.)	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	Dadzie 29'	Report	Wondimu 31'	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	Dadzie 79'	Report		Stadium: Amahoro Stadium

31 October 2024 CHAN qualification	Rwanda	3–0	Djibouti	Kigali
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Amahoro Stadium

Coaches

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

Players

Current squad

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.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Sulait Luyima	(1993-11-04) 4 November 1993 (age 31)	6	0	Arta Solar 7
1GK	Moktar Youssouf Said	(2004-10-12) 12 October 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Dikhil
1GK	Aboubaker Guedi	(1987-10-02) 2 October 1987 (age 37)	0	0	SDC Group

2DF	Ali Youssouf Farada	(1995-08-25) 25 August 1995 (age 29)	34	1	AS Port
2DF	Yabe Siad	(1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 (age 26)	25	1	Arta Solar 7
2DF	Warsama Ibrahim Aden	(1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 26)	22	1	AS Port
2DF	Moussa Araita	(1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 (age 27)	19	0	AS Port
2DF	Fouad Moussa Robleh	(1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 31)	15	1	Arta Solar 7
2DF	Moustapha Abdi Osman	(1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 (age 32)	8	0	Garde Républicaine FC
2DF	Ibrahim Idriss Mohamed	(2002-11-14) 14 November 2002 (age 22)	5	0	ASAS Djibouti Télécom
2DF	Abdillahi Elmi	(2003-03-19) 19 March 2003 (age 21)	4	0	ASAS Djibouti Télécom
2DF	Djimaleh Awaleh Kayad	(1995-10-20) 20 October 1995 (age 29)	0	0	Gendarmerie

3MF	Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh	(1991-11-11) 11 November 1991 (age 33)	30	1	Arta Solar 7
3MF	Hamza Abdi Idleh	(1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 (age 32)	27	2	Dikhil
3MF	Ahmed Mohamed Aden	(1990-12-04) 4 December 1990 (age 33)	8	0	Arta Solar 7
3MF	Ramadan Abdi Abdillahi	(1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 26)	2	0	ASAS Djibouti Télécom
3MF	Awaleh Hoch Gedo	(2001-10-18) 18 October 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Garde Républicaine FC

4FW	Samuel Akinbinu	(1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 25)	21	8	Arta Solar 7
4FW	Ahmed Youssouf Omar	(1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 (age 26)	12	0	AS Port
4FW	Gabriel Dadzie	(1997-03-06) 6 March 1997 (age 27)	13	5	Arta Solar 7
4FW	Mahad Abdi	(1999-07-11) 11 July 1999 (age 25)	7	0	Garde Républicaine FC
4FW	Moktar Hassan	(1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 26)	1	0	ASAS Djibouti Télécom
3MF	Zakaria Abdi Mouhoumed	(2000-04-23) 23 April 2000 (age 24)	0	0	SDC Group

Recent call-ups

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	Espereance	v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2023

DF	Idriss Houmed Bilha	(1997-08-27) 27 August 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Arta Solar 7	v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024

MF	Warsama Hassan	(1999-03-17) 17 March 1999 (age 25)	25	2	Arta Solar 7	v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024

FW	Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh	(1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 28)	29	7	Arta Solar 7	v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024
FW	Mohamed Fouad Mohamed	(2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 24)	18	1	Arta Solar 7	v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024
FW	Omar Abdallah	(2002-10-30) 30 October 2002 (age 22)	2	0	Garde Républicaine	v. Equatorial Guinea; 9 January 2024

Player records

As of 9 June 2024^[8]

Players in bold are still active with Djibouti.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Ali Youssouf Farada	34	1	2017–present
1	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

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

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record									Qualification record
Appearances: 0									Appearances: 6
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1974	Part of France								Part of France
1978 to 1994	Not a FIFA member								Not a FIFA member
1998	Did not enter								Declined participation
2002	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	2	10
2006	Did not enter								Declined participation
2010	Did not qualify								7	1	0	6	3	30
2014									2	0	0	2	0	8
2018									2	0	0	2	1	8
2022									8	1	1	6	6	30
2026	To be determined								4	0	1	3	2	10
2030									To be determined
2034									To be determined
Total		0/7							25	2	3	20	14	96

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1896 – 1976	Part of France (FRA)
1980	Did not enter
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008	Did not qualify
2012	Did not enter
2016
2020
2024
Total		0/28

Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1976	Part of France
1978 to 1992	Not affiliated to CAF
1994	Did not enter
1996
1998
2000	Did not qualify
2002	Did not qualify
2004	Withdrew
2006	Did not enter
2008	Withdrew
2010	Did not qualify
2012	Did not enter
2013
2015
2017	Did not qualify
2019
2021
2023
2025
2027	To be determined
Total		0/35

African Games

African Games record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1965	Part of France (FRA)
1973	Part of France (FRA)
1978	Did not enter
1987	Withdrew during qualification
1991	Did not enter
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
Total		0/12

Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the All-Africa Games was open to full senior national teams.

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2009	Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify
2014	Did not enter
2016	Did not qualify
2018	Withdrew during qualifying
2020	Banned
2022	Did not qualify
Total		0/7

CECAFA Cup

CECAFA Cup record
Appearances: 10
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Part of France
1974
1975
1976
1977	Did not enter
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1994	Group Stage	8th	3	0	0	3	2	9
1995	Did not enter
1996	Did not enter
1999	Group Stage	11th	2	0	0	2	2	6
2000		8th	4	0	1	3	4	15
2001		11th	3	0	0	3	3	17
2002	Did not enter
2003
2004
2005	Group Stage	10th	4	0	0	4	2	18
2006		11th	3	0	0	3	0	10
2007		8th	3	0	0	3	2	19
2008		10th	4	0	1	3	2	13
2009		12th	3	0	0	3	0	13
2010	Did not enter
2011	Group Stage	11th	3	0	0	3	2	10
2012	did not enter
2013	did not enter
2015	Group Stage	11th	3	0	0	3	0	9
2017	Did not enter
2019	Group Stage	6th	4	1	1	2	3	8
Total	0 Titles	12/39	35	1	3	35	22	147

FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup record									Arab Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Part of France								Part of France
1964
1966
1985	Did not enter								Did not enter
1988
1992
1998
2002
2009	Did not qualify ¹								2	0	0	2	3	8
2012	Did not enter								Did not enter
2021	Did not qualify								1	0	0	1	0	1
Total		0/9							3	0	0	3	3	9

^1 The 2009 edition was cancelled during qualification.

Arab Games

Arab Games record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1953	Part of France (FRA)
1957
1961
1965
1976
1985	Did not enter
1992
1997
1999
2004	No tournament
2007	Did not enter
2011	Did not enter
Total		0/11

References

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ "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.
^ "Djibouti – Congo DR". Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
^ "Congo DR – Djibouti". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
^ "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.
^ "Final Squad". Facebook. Fédération Djiboutienne de Football. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^ "Djibouti". National Football Teams.

External links

Djibouti at CAF
Djibouti at FIFA
Djibouti at National-Football-Teams.com.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 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.

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

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