US-based Kenyan defender handed Somalia national team call up

Kenyan-born Orlando City defender Abdi Muya Salim, who recently expressed his desire to play for the Kenya national team, Harambee Stars, has been handed a call-up to the Somali national team.

The Somali team, Ocean Stars, will start pitching camp in Morocco next week to commence preparations for the World Cup qualifiers that start in November.

Somalia are in Group G alongside Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, and Botswana.

They begin their campaign with an away game against Algeria before hosting Uganda.

They have now named a squad that will travel to Morocco, and among those named in the squad is Kenyan-born Salim.

Salim was born in Nairobi and grew up at the Daadab refugee camp before his family relocated to the US. His parents are from Somalia.

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Last month, after Kenya beat Qatar in an international friendly match, the player congratulated Kenya for the win and expressed his desire to play for his country of birth. “Congratulations to the Kenya national team for their recent victory against Qatar, and hopefully I will join you soon,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether the central defender will honour the Somalia national team call-up or if he will wait on coach Engin Firat to summon him for duty in the near future.

Meanwhile, coach Firat is expected to name the Harambee Stars’ provisional squad that will play Russia in an international friendly match during the October international break.

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Stars will take on the 2018 World Cup hosts in a friendly game that forms part of Kenya’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers that commence in November.

Kenya began their quest to grace the premier football tournament with two away matches against Gabon and the Seychelles, respectively.