Kenyan-born duo named in Somalia's squad for AFCON qualifiers
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 03.03.22. | 12:20
Somalia play Eswatini on March 23 in Tanzania before traveling to South Africa for the return leg a week later
Kenyan-born duo of Handwalla Mohammed Bwana and Said Haji have been called up to Somalia's national team final squad that is set to do duty in the preliminary round of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 qualifiers later this month.
Haji was included in the provisional squad named earlier by the new head coach Hendrik Pieter De Jongh and made it to the final squad, with Bwana coming in the final squad that was released recently despite missing in the provisional one.
Both Bwana and Haji ply their trade in the Major League Soccer, turning out for Nashville SC and San Jose Earthquakes respectively, rubbing shoulders with former Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama.
SOMALI NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM 🇸🇴⚽️ FINAL SQUAD LIST 🔥🔥🔥 THOUGHTS?💭 pic.twitter.com/RSqlYiIxnG
— SOMALI ATHLETE (@SomaliAthlete) February 27, 2022
While Bwana was born in Mombasa before moving to Kakuma Refugee Camp where he spent up to six years before moving to the USA, Haji was born at the refugee camp and moved to the US aged five.
Haji turned professional in 2019 when he was selected second overall in the 2019 MLS Super Draft by the San Jose Earthquakes
Somalia have a date with Eswatini in the preliminary round of the qualifiers in March, with the first leg of the two-legged clash being played on March 23, and the return a week later.
The team, which is coached by former AFC Leopards tactician Pieter de Jongh, is made mostly of foreign-based players, with the only two exceptions being two goalkeepers playing locally in Somalia.
Earlier, the Somali Football Federation (SFF) announced that the team will camp in Dar es salaam, Tanzania where they will also play their home matches.
Somalia were hoping to use Nyayo Stadium for the fixture but they were reportedly advised to seek other alternatives, perhaps because of Kenya's suspension by FIFA, and settled on Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
Another Kenyan-born Somali Abdi Mohammed of Greenville Triumph did not make the list despite being a Somali international having played against Zimbabwe during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in 2019.
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