MOGADISHU, Sept. 4 — For Haji Adan Abdulle, football is far more than a sport. It is a bridge between generations, a tool for healing friendships fractured by war, and a platform for former Somali national team players to reclaim their voice.
As the founder of Halyeeyada Nabadda Soomaaliyeed (Somali Legends of Peace), Abdulle has spent the past five years reuniting prominent athletes who faded from the public eye. “We established this program in 2021, and over the past five years, we have accomplished a great deal,” Abdulle told Xinhua during a recent interview. Among the initiative’s main achievements was the reunion of former national team and top-flight players who had been largely forgotten, providing them with a platform to help shape the future of Somali football. “Today, these legends have a voice within Somali football,” Abdulle said, noting that the former players have representation in the General Assembly of the Somali Football Federation, allowing them to take part in discussions and decisions concerning the sport.
For many former players, this gathering space is far more than a meeting point. It has evolved into a vital support network where old teammates reconnect, returning players are welcomed, and those facing illness or hardship receive collective support. Decades of conflict and displacement shattered long-standing bonds, scattering teammates across the globe. By bringing them together through regular gatherings, the initiative allows these former athletes to rediscover lost friendships. Among those reunited is Omar Shino, a former Jeenyo Sports Club player who fled Somalia in the early years of the war.
Shino, who starred for Jeenyo during the club’s successful years in the early 1980s, when football was a prominent part of Somali society, recently returned home after decades abroad to experience the initiative firsthand. “I learned about how former players — many of whom had not played football or even seen one another for many years — were being brought together again,” Shino said. “When I returned to Somalia, I was able to see the remarkable work the legends are doing with my own eyes,” he added. Beyond supporting former players, the initiative now reaches a new generation of Somali youth aspiring to build careers in football. Abdulle noted that the football legends regularly visit districts across the Banadir region and local sports academies to scout emerging talent.
Drawing on their collective experience as former national team players and coaches, they launched the “Football Talent Campaign,” a structured effort to identify grassroots talent across different neighborhoods and develop promising players for the national stage. “Many of our legends are among the country’s most experienced coaches and former national team trainers,” Abdulle said. “Because of their knowledge and experience, we launched a program called the Football Talent Campaign.” The initiative enables former players to pass their knowledge to the next generation, encouraging young athletes to view football as both a potential career and a vehicle for personal development. Shino said he was especially impressed by the legends’ visits to local districts and sports academies, where former national players and coaches actively mentor young talent.
For Abdulle, however, the initiative’s impact extends far beyond the pitch. Decades of civil war left deep social fractures across Somalia, epitomized by Mogadishu’s notorious “Green Line,” which physically and politically divided the capital’s residents. Abdulle was among those who used sport to cross that divide, harnessing football as a unifying tool to bring fragmented communities together, foster dialogue and rebuild trust. “During the years of conflict, the ‘Green Line’ became a symbol of division within Mogadishu,” he said. “We proved that sport can help break down those divisions by bringing communities together.”
Through tournaments, community events and grassroots sports, the Legends initiative promotes dialogue, reconciliation and social cohesion across communities. For Shino, the true power of the movement is reflected in its ability to bring decades of Somali football history together under one roof. “Here, you can find former players who played as far back as the 1960s, around the time of independence, as well as players whose careers continued until the collapse of the state,” he said.
The effort to bring the legends together began as a grassroots search, with organizers personally reaching out to former players living across Mogadishu and its suburbs. What began as an effort to reconnect old teammates has since grown into a broader social movement, linking generations of Somalis through the shared language of sport. For Abdulle, the vision is clear: preserve the legacy of Somalia’s football heroes while using their collective experience and the power of sport to help build a more united society. “Sport is peace, and we will continue working for peace through sport,” he said.
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