MOGADISHU—The head of Somali Football Federation has invited the Somalia based militant group Al Shabab to form a soccer team and take part in the reviving football league in Somalia.
Speaking to the BBC, Abdiqani Said Arab, the head of Somali Football Federation and the Deputy Director of Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa), said football bring together people of diverse background. He called on the group to intergerate in to the society, saying they should not isolate themselves.
“We are not against them and they are not against us,”he told the BBC in an interview Monday.
Mr Arab, a voice of authority in the continent’s football, believes the “beautiful game” will communicate to the group that it can be a part of Somali society rather than fighting it.
Not only Al-Shabaab but also those fighting for the warlords, the moderate Islamists or anyone else involved in Somalia conflict are welcome to our football,” Shafii Muhudin, the spokesman for the Somali Football Federation has explained
Al Shabab is yet to react to that invitation.
