A history has been written today in Somalia’s Puntland after the federal member state held its first local football elective congress where Mohamed Ali Isse AKA Ciiro, has been elected to lead the regional state’s football.
The election which took place in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State, has been monitored by officials from Somali football federation lead by Somali Football Federation vice president for regional development, Abdullahi Sheik Nor Ahmed.
The election was the first of its kind to be held in the federal member state, where football authorities were previously named by the regional minister of sport, but finally this election ended the era of ministerial appointments, as sports authorities are to be elected by their stakeholders. Mohamed Ali Isse AKA Ciiro, has gained a landslide victory after accumulating 21 votes, while his opponent Abshir Ali Yusuf got 6 votes.
“Somali Football Federation has long been trying to persuade federal member states of the country to have their football authorities elected, but not appointed and this election is a milestone for Somalia in general and particularly for the Puntland State” Somali Football Federation vice president for regional development, Abdullahi Sheikh Nor Ahmed, said.
“I congratulate Mohamed Ali Isse on his election as the chairman of Puntland’s football Association. He is and experienced young man who has been involved in the game for a long time. His contribution to the game as a player, coach and administrator finally put him in the top leadership position of Puntland’s football” Somali Football Federation vice president for regional development Abdullahi Sheik Nor Ahmed, noted.
On his side, Puntland Minister for youth and sport, Jama Farah Muse, congratulated the new Puntland Football Association chairman and his committee members. “I am happy that the first sporting election has been held in Puntland today. This is a one of the advancements we are doing towards promotion of our sport in general” the minister said adding that his ministry will maintain a very close working relationship with the elected football officials.