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Western Sahara

Nickname(s)	الإبل Los Dromedarios (The Dromedaries)
Association	الاتحاد الصحراوي لكرة القدم Federación Saharaui de Fútbol
Confederation	World Unity Football Alliance
Head coach	Mohendi Abdelay
Most caps	El-Mahfoud Welad (5)
Top scorer	Sahia Ahmed Budah (4)
Home stadium	Stade de Tindouf
FIFA code	SADR ESH
First colours Second colours
First international
Unofficial FLN football team Veterans – Western Sahara  (Algiers, Algeria; Date Unknown 1976) Le Mans UC 72 3–2 Western Sahara  (France; Date Unknown 1988) Official  Galicia 2–1 Western Sahara  (Teo, Spain; 23 December 2011) MC Alger 6–1 Western Sahara  (Algiers, Algeria; 20 May 2023)
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 EUGA Ardziv (Marseille, France; 23 June 2013)
Viva World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2012)
Best result	Sixth place (2012)

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 World Unity Football Alliance for non-FIFA-affiliated nations.

History

Origins (1976–2003)

Many teams have represented Western Sahara, or the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), in unofficial matches. One of the earliest known football game of the Sahrawi national team took place in 1976, when they faced off against veterans of the FLN football team. The historic match was held at the iconic 20 August Stadium in Algiers, and the Saharawi team was coached by Rachid Mekhloufi, an esteemed figure in Algerian football

More friendlies would be played later on in 1984 against different teams of the Algerian football league. In 1986-87, the Saharawi selection would go to face different Italian and Spanish teams before formally establishing the Sahrawi Football Federation in 1989. A year before that In 1988, the Sahrawi selection would even face Le Mans UC 72 in France, in a game they would lose 3–2. More games would be played in 1994 as part of a friendlies tour of Algeria, before disappearing off the radars in the following years.

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.

A year later on the 8th of May 2002, another game was set between "Rock no war", a foundation dedicated to promoting peace through music and sports, and the newly established Saharawi national team. The game ended on a victory of the latter on the score of 6 - 2.

NF-Board membership and foundation (2003–2012)

On 12 December 2003, the Sahrawi Football Federation became one of the first members to be provisionally affiliated to the Nouvelle Fédération Board. The SFF failed to attend the 2006 N.F.-Board AGM but were present in the 6th General Assembly held on the 5 December 2009 in Paris, France. 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.

2012 VIVA World Cup

On the 25 March 2012, Mohamed Moulud Mohamed Fadel, SADR Minister for Youth and Sports, announced the official creation of the Sahrawi national football team. After which, the minister announced that the national team would be participating in the upcoming VIVA World Cup held in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Trials were held a few days later in the camps and eventually a team of 20 players was selected, all of them playing for local teams. The team held a five-day internship at the "Chahid Am-mi Lamjeilil" Officer Training School in preparation, and on the 30th of May, the Saharawi selection traveled to the Algerian capital, where they conducted a short training session at Omar Hamadai Stadium in Bologhine before leaving for the competition.

All members of the Sahrawi mission traveled to Arbil using Sahrawi passports. However, when presented to the Kurdish authorities, the later initially refused to grant the selection entry, stating that this document was not recognized. They insisted that they could only enter under the name of Morocco which the team refused, stating that they would rather wait for a plane back then do so. After some negotiations with the Kurdistan government however, the team was finally granted entry.

Thus, the Sahrawi national football team made its official international debut at the inauguration match of the VIVA World Cup, playing against the host team, Kurdistan at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil, Iraq on 4 June 2012. 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. The next match was a play-off against Darfur, and ended in a 5–1 victory, Saharawi's first official international victory. They beat Raetia 3–0 before losing the fifth place match 3–1 to Occitania.

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. 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.

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.

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 cancelled 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.

Led by Mohandi Abdelahy Mulay, the Saharawi selection played against the dean of Algerian clubs, the historic Mouloudia Club of Algiers, at the new 'Nelson Mandela' stadium in Baraki, on the outskirts of the Algerian capital. The match ended 6-1 in favor of the Algerian club. Mustafa Troncoso, a skilled striker representing Coria CF in Spain, managed to find the back of the net in the first minutes of the game and secured the sole goal for the Sahrawi team. Most of Saharawi players in the selection compete in various football leagues in Spain, France, Germany, and Sweden, with the addition of three other players who play in teams from the Refugee camps in Tindouf.

The second game in the Western Sahara national football team's friendly series in Algeria was played three days later at the Mabrouki Salem Stadium in Rouiba. They faced against MC Rouiba, a club that evolves in the Honour Division 1 of the Algerian Championship. The match ended on a score of 3 - 3 with Fadili Deich, Ali Radjel and Boulahi Nan scoring the goals for the Saharawi selection.

The Saharawi national football team was honored at the headquarters of Algerian newspaper El Moudjahid, overseen by the Mishaal El Shaheed Association. The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries including the Algerian Minister of Mujahideen, and the Sahrawi Ambassador to Algeria, along with other ambassadors from several countries. The team received honorary medals, and their achievements were praised as a step towards international recognition. The event highlighted pledges of future support and the establishment of internships for the team in participating countries.

Team image

Kits and crest

Kit provider	Period
AMS Clothing	2016–2018
Orlo Sport	2020–2021
Cejudo	2021–present

The Sahrawi national football team traditionally adorned predominantly green jerseys for the first years of their inception, however since 2021 the Sahrawi selection adopted a new home kit that is white with black sleeves, inspired by the main colours of the Sahrawi flag. Conversely, the away kit embraced a blend of black and green and a third kit was introduced, featuring the signature full green colouring.

The crest of the Sahrawi national team used to feature a dromedary which inspired the nickname of the team. However in 2021, the Sahrawi Football Federation adopted a new crest featuring a gazelle, a typical animal of the Sahrawi fauna. On a post on their official Twitter page, they explained the meaning behind the new crest being that the gazelle "represents beauty and elegance ... it's synonymous with skill and agility; adjectives that represent our players well".

Selected internationals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	Western Sahara scorers	Att.	Ref.
—	1976	20 August 1955 Stadium, Algeria	FLN football team Veterans	–	Friendly	Unknown	–
—	1988	France	Le Mans UC 72	2–3	Friendly	Unknown	–
1	27 February 2001	Tindouf	Basque Country	2–2	25th anniversary of the SADR proclamation	Unknown	4,000
—	8 May 2002	Tindouf	Rock No War Team	6–2	Friendly	Unknown	–
2	2007		Macau	1–0	Friendly	Unknown	–
3	23 December 2011	Cacherias, Teo	Galicia	1–2	Friendly	Unknown	1,500
4	4 June 2012	Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil	Kurdistan Region	0–6	2012 Viva World Cup		9,000
5	5 June 2012	Ararat Stadium, Salahaddin	Occitania	2–6	2012 Viva World Cup	Budah, Malum	200
6	7 June 2012	Franso Hariri Stadium, Arbil	Darfur	5–1	2012 Viva World Cup	Budah (2) Malum, Maaruf, El Mami	–
7	8 June 2012	Franso Hariri Stadium, Arbil	Raetia	3–0	2012 Viva World Cup	Ali, El Mami, Boiah	–
8	9 June 2012	Ararat Stadium, Salahaddin	Occitania	1–3	2012 Viva World Cup	Bijah	–
—	23 June 2013	Stadium Albert Eynaud, Marseille	UGA Ardeiv	3–17	2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes	Budah, unknown goals (2)	–
9	24 June 2013	Stade Bonneveine Terrades, Marseille	Kurdistan Region	0–6	2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes		–
10	28 June 2013	Henri Michellier Stadium, Marseille	Tibet	2–12	2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes	Raghoua (2)	–
—	27 March 2014	Sarria	S.D. Sarriana	3–1	Friendly	Daf (2), Nazy	–
—	28 March 2014	Vigo	Celta de Vigo Veterans	3–1	Friendly	Adda (2), Daf	–
—	29 March 2014	Noia	Ría de Noia - Muros Selection	0–2	Friendly		–
11	31 July 2015	Stadium Lille Métropole, Villeneuve-d'Ascq	Esperanto	4–0	2015 Zamenhof Cup	Unknown	–
—	13 August 2016	20 August 1955 Stadium, Algiers	NA Hussein Dey	–	Friendly		–
—	17 June 2017	Stade de Tindouf, Tindouf	UNHCR	3–3	Friendly	Boglaida (2), Mohammed	–
—	10 August 2018	Pep Claramunt Stadium, Valencia	UD Puçol	1–6	Friendly	Unknown	–
—	20 February 2019	Stade de Tindouf, Tindouf	CSA Aek Tindouf	0–1	Friendly		–
—	3 August 2022	Stade Océane, Le Havre	SS Gournay	2–1	Friendly	Fadili, Ismael Mou	–
—	6 August 2022	Stade Océane, Le Havre	ESM Gonfreville	2–2	Friendly	Sidahmed (2)	–
—	19 May 2023	Nelson Mandela Stadium, Algiers	MC Alger	1–6	Friendly	Boudah	~30,000
—	23 May 2023	Mabrouki Salem Stadium, Rouiba	MC Rouiba	3–3	Friendly	Deich, Radjel, Nan	–

Notes

^1 The game was abandoned half way due to equipment being stolen from the Esperanto team locker room.

^2 The game was cancelled due to the Saharawi team not getting the required authorisations in time.

All-time record

As of 23 May 2023 after the match against MC Rouiba

Against other nations

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Basque Country	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Darfur	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4
Esperanto	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Galicia	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Kurdistan Region	2	0	0	2	0	12	−12
Macau	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Occitania	2	0	0	2	3	9	−6
Raetia	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Tibet	1	0	0	1	2	12	−10
Total	11	4	1	6	21	38	−15

Against club sides

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Celta de Vigo Veterans	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
CSA Aek Tindouf	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
ESM Gonfreville	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
FC Gournay	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Le Mans FC	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1
MC Alger	1	0	0	1	1	6	-5
MC Rouiba	1	0	1	0	3	3	0
Rìa de Noia - Muros Selection	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2
Rock No War Team	1	1	0	0	6	2	+4
S.D. Sarriana	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
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	13	4	3	6	29	48	−19

Coaching Staff

As of May 2023.

Position	Name
Head coach	Mohandi Abdelay Mulay
Assistant coaches	Francisco José Cruz Juanma Suárez
Goalkeeping coach	Bal-la Abeidi Salek
Trainer	Adrián Sanchez López
Doctor	Medjahed Mehdi
Physiotherapist	Lakroute Mohamed Lamin

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the friendly game against MC Alger ( Algeria)
• Match dates: 20 May 2023
• Caps and goals correct as of: 23 May 2023, after the match against MC Rouiba ( Algeria).

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Mohamed Yeslem		1	0
2	2DF	Nico Deidih		1	0
3	2DF	Faly Mulay		1	0
4	2DF	Ismail Islem		1	0
5	2DF	El Ghailani Mohamed Salem		1	0
6	3MF	Kentaui Mohamed Salem		1	0
7	4FW	Jordi Sid Ahmed		1	0
8	3MF	Brahim Monak		1	0
9	4FW	Ali Radjel Cheikh Bachir	(1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 26)	2	1	CD Palencia Cristo Atlético
10	3MF	Mustapha Tronsno Espinar		1	1	Coria CF
11	4FW	Osman Daddah		1	0
12		Bulahi Nan		2	1
13		Wanati Khalihina		1	0
14		Fadili Deich		2	1
15		Mohammed Elouali		1	0
16	1GK	Ozman Mulay		1	0	Al Salam CS
17		Ismael Mouloud		1	0
18		Moulud Sais		1	0
19		Husein Mohamed		1	0
20		Salkou Nan		1	0
21		Malainin Luchaa		1	0
22	1GK	Mohammed Buda		1	0	Al Salam CS

Notable players

• Sahia Ahmed Budah – national team top scorer

Managers

• Sidahmed Erguibi Ahmed Baba Haiai (2010 – 2017)
• Mohandi Abdelay Mulay (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
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
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

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7. ^ "República Sahara – Euskadi" (in Spanish). Ueskadiko Futbol Federakundea – Federación Vasca de Fútbol. Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
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38. Federación Saharaui de Deportes (May 19, 2023). "¡Os presentamos a nuestro equipo técnico! 👉🏽Entrenador: Mohamdi Mulay Ahmed Cori. 👉🏽 Segundo Entrenador: Francisco José Cruz. 👉🏽 Preparador físico: Adrián Sanchez López" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved May 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
39. Federación Saharaui de Deportes (May 19, 2023). "👉🏽 Médico: Dr Medjahed Mehdi 👉🏽 Fisioterapeuta: Lakroute Mohamed Lamin. 👉🏽 Preparador de porteros: Bal-la Abeidi Salek. Por supuesto no nos olvidamos de nuestro Coach Juanma Suárez que por temas personales finalmente no podrá estar con nosotros, te tenemos presente compañero" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved May 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
40. "THE DROMEDARIES". inbedwithmaradona.com. 16 February 2013.
41. "This Football Is a Game of Dispossession". ipsnews.net. 25 June 2012.

External links

• Sahrawi national football team Official Facebook Page
• Sahrawi national football team on Fedefutbol.net

• CONIFA member associations
• African N.F.-Board teams
• Football in Western Sahara
• 2012 establishments in Western Sahara