MOGADISHU, June 12, 2011 - Football coaches from first division clubs and regions across the country have benefited from a five-day long FIFA MA coaching course for senior Somali Football coaches held in the neighboring Djibouti.

The course held between June 5-9 was the second ever FIFA level course held for dozens of Somali football coaches across the boarders due to security concerns in Somalia. 

A ceremony marking the end of the FIFA level course for 30 Somali coaches was held on Thursday June 9, at the national technical centre of Djibouti Football Federation in the presence of high profile Somali NOC, SFF and Somali government officials.

Somali Football Federation secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab said that his federation had spent all it can to have a successful course for the Somali coaches whom he said were fully committed to gain from it.

“This is not the first course for Somalia to be held here and as we all know other refereeing and coaching courses were previously hosted here—I would like to tell with a loud voice in front of you that without the brotherly help from the Djibouti president, Football Federation and the whole people here we couldn’t have achieved such progress” the Somali FA secretary General told the ceremony.

On behalf of his organization, the FIFA lecturer at the Somali course Mr. Ulric Mathiot for his part praised the Djibouti FA’s close relationship with Somali FA saying that he was admired how well both federations worked in the field of football development in the war-ravaged Somalia.

“Your commitment to promote football in your country really satisfied me—I will ask FIFA to give Somalia more courses” the FIFA instructor Mr. Ulric Mathiot told the closing ceremony.

Somali Football Federation authorities praised Ulric Mathiot who is from the small island in the Indian ocean of Seychelles,the first FIFA lecturer to conduct a course for Somalis two years ago.

“I am very happy with what I have seen here this week, the coaches were very keen on the course and that encourages me to ask FIFA for more courses to be held for Somalia” the lecturer emphasized.

The president of Somali Football Federation {SFF} Said Mahmoud Nur urged the coaches to embrace a great national responsibility for the good of the game in the region.

“In this sophisticated world football has changed into knowledge so we want you to transmit what you have learned to the other coaches in the country who didn’t have such golden chance to come to this course and I am very confident that you will score a real development of football in the country” the Somali FA president told the coaches during his closing remarks.

The president of football federation in Djibouti Hussein Fadoul said that people in both countries are descended from the same origin and that Somali Football Federation has the right to organize and hold every thing it wants in Djibouti.

“Here is your country—feel like that you are in Mogadishu when you are here” the Djibouti FA president Hussein Fadoul told the closing ceremony.

Somali deputy minister for youth and sports Ali Sheik Abdullahi praised the activities by the Somali Football federation which he said had achieved more tangible activities in the country.

“Sport is out of policy, tribalism, apartheid or religion and that is why the country’s Olympic committee and its member federations had achieved a lot that they couldn’t do without the joint and the positive job they had done before” the Somali deputy minister for sport told the ceremony, before announcing that the course was closed.