Somali basketball makes competitive return after more than 35 years

The Wiish Stadium, one of Somalia’s most important sporting venues, hosted the first competitive basketball match in decades as the country rebuilds its sporting scene.

Dekedda SC emerged winners in the eight-team tournament organised by the Somali Basketball Federation.

Under the floodlights on a warm Mogadishu night on Saturday, Somali basketball made a historic return after more than 35 years in the cold.

Mogadishu Port’s Dekedda SC defeated Heegan SC 80-64 to win the 2026 General Daud Cup at Wiish Stadium.

The federation said competitive basketball had not been played at Wiish Stadium - one of Somalia’s most important sporting venues - for decades.

Speaker of Somalia’s parliament Abdulkadir Mohamed Jama attended the final and presented the championship trophy to Dekedda SC after their victory.

Also in attendance were Mohamed Abduqadir Ali, Minister of Youth and Sports, and Ambassador Mohamed Ali Nur, General Manager of Mogadishu Port, alongside officials involved in the tournament.

For the players and supporters inside the arena, the occasion was about more than the final score. It was the return of familiar nighttime sporting to Mogadishu - players competing under floodlights, supporters filling the stands and a major domestic trophy being decided on the court.

The tournament comes as the Somali Basketball Federation works to rebuild a sustainable domestic competition structure. According to the federation, organised domestic basketball had been largely absent for more than two years.

The final also carried an international flavour, with French and Kenyan officials among the referees overseeing the competition as Somalia works towards returning to continental and global basketball competition.

The national team is also being rebuilt, with the federation seeking to attract Somali-born players from the diaspora and expand the pool of talent available to represent the country.

The revival of nighttime basketball was driven by Abdirahman “Koshin” Abditawab, secretary general of the Somali Basketball Federation, who worked with the federation’s president, officials and wider team to turn the idea of restoring evening games into a full tournament.