Djibouti football federation accused of misusing funds

Djibouti's football federation is facing allegations of favouritism, poor procurement and misuse of funds after a 2024 government inspector's report accused it of problems in awarding a contract for a new headquarters.

The federation receives more than $1 million a year from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football. The audit accused the federation of favouritism in awarding the headquarters contract and overpricing for many parts of the contract. Allegations also concern funds provided by Saudi Arabia for the headquarters.

A local club manager, speaking anonymously, said his team would boycott this year's league unless the federation's leadership changed. He said the federation's resources were not being used for football development.

Mohamed Elmi Farah resigned from the federation's executive committee on August 12, citing “concerns regarding the management and use of the federation's resources”.

Souleiman Hassan Waberi, the longtime head of the Djibouti Football Federation and a FIFA Council member representing CAF, denied wrongdoing. He said FIFA had officially told the federation that its monitoring mechanisms had found no indication of wrongdoing in funds it disbursed.

Waberi acknowledged “shortcomings regarding competitive bidding” in some operations, but blamed the limited availability of many items in Djibouti and said procedures had since improved.