Western Sahara national football team
The Western Sahara national football team (Arabic: منتخب الصحراء الغربية لكرة القدم, Spanish: Selección de fútbol del Sahara Occidental) represents Western Sahara (SADR), a disputed territory, in association football. Controlled by the Sahrawi Football Federation, they are members of ConIFA for non-FIFA-affiliated nations.
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Los Dromedarios (The Dromedaries)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | الاتحاد الصحراوي لكرة القدم Federación Saharaui de Fútbol | ||
| Confederation | World Unity Football Alliance | ||
| Head coach | Mohandi Abdalahi | ||
| Most caps | El-Mahfoud Welad (5) | ||
| Top scorer | Sahia Ahmed Budah (4) | ||
| Home stadium | Stade de Tindouf | ||
| FIFA code | SADR ESH | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
Unofficial.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Le Mans UC 72 3–2 Western Sahara  (France; Date Unknown 1988) Official  Galicia 2–1 Western Sahara (Teo, Spain; 23 December 2011) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Western Sahara 5–1 Darfur  (Arbil, Iraq; 7 June 2012) Western Sahara 4–0 Esperanto  (Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; 31 July 2015) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Western Sahara 3–17 UGA Ardeiv  (Marseille, France; 23 June 2013) | |||
| Viva World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2012) | ||
| Best result | Sixth place (2012) | ||
History
Origins (1984–2003)
Many teams have represented Western Sahara, or the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), in unofficial matches. The first known games were played against Algerian league teams in 1984, before the creation of the Sahrawi Football Federation.[2] In 1986, 1987 and 1994, friendly matches were played against Algerian, Spanish and Italian league teams. In 1988, a Sahrawi Republic team played with Le Mans UC 72 in France, losing 3–2. On 27 February 2001, during the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the SADR, a match was played in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria between a Sahrawi Republic team and a Basque Country veterans team. The match was attended by more than 4,000 fans, and was abandoned during the second half owing to the temperature (38 °C) with the score at 2–2.[3]
NF-Board membership and foundation (2003–2012)
On 12 December 2003, the Sahrawi Football Federation became provisionally affiliated to the Nouvelle Fédération Board.[4] In 2007, a team representing Western Sahara beat Macau 1–0. On 23 December 2011, a mixed-sex team from the Spanish region of Galicia beat a team composed of members of the Sahrawi diaspora in Spain 2–1, in a match played in Teo that was attended by 1,500 fans.[5] On 5 December 2009, three Sahrawi representatives participated in the 6th General Assembly of the N.F.-Board in Paris, France.[6]
On 25 March 2012, Mohamed Moulud Mohamed Fadel, SADR Minister for Youth and Sports, announced the official creation of the Sahrawi national football team.[7]
2012 VIVA World Cup
The Sahrawi national football team made its official international début at the inauguration match of the 5th VIVA World Cup, playing against the host team, Kurdistan at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil, Iraq on 4 June 2012.[8] The Dromedaries lost 6–0 to the team which went on to win the tournament. Their next match was against Occitania, a 6–2 defeat, and the team finished in third position in Group A.[9] The next match was a play-off against Darfur, and ended in a 5–1 victory, Sahrawi's first official international victory. They beat Raetia 3–0 before losing the fifth place match 3–1 to Occitania.[10]
The Sahrawi national football team and federation had to face a deal made between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Government of Morocco, which consisted of avoiding the display of the SADR flag during ceremonies and matches of the VIVA tournament.[11] Despite this, the SADR team managed to arrange extraofficial deals with all their rivals to fly the Sahrawi flag wave on the stadiums where they played their matches.[12][13][14]
ConIFA and Zamenhof Cup (2012–2020)
On 31 July 2015, the Sahrawi team beat the Esperanto Team by 4–0 at the Stadium Lille Métropole. The match was part of the Zamenhof Cup, event made during the 100th World Esperanto Congress.[15]
On 13 April 2018, the ConIFA announces the death of El-Mahfoud Welad, the goalkeeper of the Western Sahara national team, who was killed during the 2018 Algerian Air Force Il-76 crash.
In 2020, Western Sahara would participate in the 2020 CONIFA World Football Cup, but due to logistical problems, they withdrew from playing in the competition. The competition would later be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Present (2020–present)
In June 2020, Western Sahara joined the World Unity Football Alliance.
The ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Algeria, Abdelkader Taleb Omar, announced on 18 May 2023 in Algiers the "official birth" of the Sahrawi football team, on the occasion of the festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Polisario Front.[16]
Selected internationals
|
|
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Western Sahara scorers | Att. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1988 | France | Le Mans UC 72 |
2–3 | Friendly | Unknown | – | |
| 2 | 27 February 2001 | Tindouf |  Basque Country |
2–2 | 25th anniversary of the SADR proclamation | Unknown | 4,000 | [3] |
| 3 | 2007 |  Macau |
1–0 | Friendly | Unknown | – | ||
| 4 | 23 December 2011 | Cacherias, Teo | Galicia |
1–2 | Friendly | Unknown | 1,500 | [5] |
| 5 | 4 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil |  Kurdistan Region |
0–6 | 2012 Viva World Cup | 9,000 | [17] | |
| 6 | 5 June 2012 | Ararat Stadium, Salahaddin | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Occitania |
2–6 | 2012 Viva World Cup | Budah, Malum | 200 | [14] |
| 7 | 7 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Arbil | Darfur |
5–1 | 2012 Viva World Cup | Budah (2) Malum, Maaruf, El Mami | – | |
| 8 | 8 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Arbil |  Raetia |
3–0 | 2012 Viva World Cup | Ali, El Mami, Boiah | – | [13] |
| 9 | 9 June 2012 | Ararat Stadium, Salahaddin | Occitania |
1–3 | 2012 Viva World Cup | Bijah | – | |
| 10 | 23 June 2013 | Marseille | UGA Ardeiv |
3–17 | 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | Budah, unknown goals (2) | – | [18] |
| 11 | 24 June 2013 | Marseille | Kurdistan Region |
0–6 | 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | – | [18] | |
| 12 | 28 June 2013 | Marseille |  Tibet |
2–12 | 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | Raghoua (2) | – | [18] |
| 13 | 28 March 2014 | Sarria |  S.D. Sarriana |
3–1 | Friendly | Daf (2), Nazy | – | [19] |
| 14 | 29 March 2014 | Vigo | Celta de Vigo |
–[A] | Friendly | – | ||
| 15 | 30 March 2014 | Noia | CF Noia |
–[A] | Friendly | – | ||
| 16 | 31 July 2015 | Stadium Lille Métropole, Villeneuve-d'Ascq | Esperanto |
4–0 | 2015 Zamenhof Cup | Unknown | – | |
| 17 | 13 August 2016 | Algiers |  NA Hussein Dey |
–[A] | Friendly | – | ||
| 18 | 17 June 2017 | Stade de Tindouf, Tindouf |  UNHCR |
3–3 | Friendly | Boglaida (2), Mohammed | – | |
| 19 | 10 August 2018 | Valencia | UD Puçol |
1–6 | Friendly | Unknown | – | |
| 20 | 20 February 2019 | Stade de Tindouf, Tindouf | CSA Aek Tindouf |
0–1 | Friendly | – | ||
| 21 | 3 August 2022 | Stade Océane, Le Havre |  FC Gournay |
2–1 | Friendly | Unknown | – | [20] |
| 22 | 6 August 2022 | Stade Océane, Le Havre | ESM Gonfreville |
2–2 | Friendly | Sidahmed (2) | – | [21] |
| 23 | 19 May 2023 | Nelson Mandela Stadium, Algiers | MC Alger |
- | Friendly | – | [22] |
- Notes
- ^ A Unknown results.
All-time record against other nations
As of 6 August 2022 after the match against ESM Gonfreville
Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basque Country | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| CSA Aek Tindouf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 |
| Darfur | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| ESM Gonfreville | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Esperanto | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| FC Gournay | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Galicia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 |
| Kurdistan Region | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | −12 |
| Le Mans FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 |
| Macau | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Occitania | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 |
| Raetia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| S.D. Sarriana | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Tibet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 | −10 |
| UD Puçol | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
| UGA Ardeiv | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 17 | −14 |
| UNHCR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 37 | 72 | −35 |
Notable players
- Sahia Ahmed Budah – national team top scorer[23][24]
Player records
As of 20 February 2019
- Players in bold are still active with Western Sahara.
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sahia Ahmed Budah | 4 | — | — | ? |
| 2 | Selma Iarba Malum | 2 | — | — | ? |
| Mohamed El Mami | — | — | ? | ||
| Brahim Raghoua | — | — | ? | ||
| Mohamed Daf | — | — | ? | ||
| Mohamed Boglaida | — | — | ? | ||
| 7 | Cori Maaruf | 1 | — | — | ? |
| Moulay Aba Ali | — | — | ? | ||
| Ba Boiah | — | — | ? | ||
| Abdullah Bijah | — | — | ? | ||
| Hassanna Nazy | — | — | ? | ||
| Hamid Mohammed | — | — | ? | ||
Managers
- Sidahmed Erguibi Ahmed Baba Haiai (2010–2017)
- Mohandi Abdalahi (2018–present)
Competitive record
World tournaments
| World tournaments record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| VIVA World Cup | ||||||||
| 2006 | Did not enter | |||||||
 2008 | ||||||||
 2009 | ||||||||
 2010 | ||||||||
| 2012 | Group stage | 6th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 16 |
| International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | ||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2013 | Group stage | 6th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 35 |
| Zamenhof Cup | ||||||||
| 2015 | Champion | 1st | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| ConIFA World Football Cup | ||||||||
| 2014 | Did not enter | |||||||
 2016 | ||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2018 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Total | 1 title | 3/10 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 51 |
National stadium
Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf in Laayoune seats 15,000
References
- Zoo africano Pablo Aro Geraldes – International football journalism (in Spanish)
- The Dromedaries Archived 2013-02-22 at the Wayback Machine Ed Stubbs – In Bed With Maradona, 15 February 2013
- "República Sahara – Euskadi" (in Spanish). Ueskadiko Futbol Federakundea – Federación Vasca de Fútbol. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
- "List Federations Affiliated to NF-Board". N.F.-Board. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- "La selección gallega venció al combinado saharahui en Teo" (in Spanish). El Correo Gallego. 2011-12-26. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- "Press release N.F.-Board N° 24" (PDF) (Press release). N.F.-Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2021.
- "Establishment of Saharawi national football team (Minister of Youth and Sport)". SPS. 2012-03-25. Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
- Arsalan Abdullah (2012-05-31). "2012 VIVA World Cup matches kick off Monday". AK News. Archived from the original on 2012-06-02. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- "Western Sahara – Occitania 2/6". Vivaworldcup2012.com. 2012-05-06. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- "Calendar results". Vivaworldcup2012.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- James M. Dorsey (2012-06-15). "Iraqi Kurds' VIVA World Cup win rises hopes for nationhood". Hurriyet. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- Andoni Lubaki I (2012-06-17). "La selección de las arenas vuelve a casa" (in Spanish). Gara. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- Sahara Occidental – Rhétie, 3–0 sous le soleil kurde APSO
- VIVA World Cup 2012 ™, Occitanie – Sahara Occidental, 6–2 APSO
- James Patrick Goprdon (1 August 2015). "Esperanto vs Western Sahara Challenges Our Ideas of What International Football Looks Like". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- "Sport/Sahara Occidental : naissance de la sélection sahraouie de football" [Sport/Western Sahara: birth of the Sahrawi football team]. Algeria Press Service (in French). May 18, 2023. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/5/310786/
- Flash foot Marseille : nouveaux goupes, les matchs de l’équipe du Sahara Occidental (saharadoc)
- "Goles por un Sáhara libre en los campos de Galicia". 28 March 2014.
- "Clausura de la semana del deporte solidario en honor a la selección saharaui de fútbol". 7 August 2022.
- https://twitter.com/AbdalayMulay/status/1555976788278448128
- "ALG : MC Alger – EN Sahara occidental, au stade Nelson Mandela". 15 May 2023.
- "THE DROMEDARIES". inbedwithmaradona.com.
- "This Football Is a Game of Dispossession". ipsnews.net. 25 June 2012.