AFCON U-17: Somalia's rising star sidelined by controversial age verification.
He has been excluded from Somalia’s official roster due to a failed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) screening.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) relies on MRI screenings to verify players’ ages by scanning their wrists.

Initial screenings conducted by SCANADU in Addis Ababa and Mogadishu suggested he passed stage 5+ and had yet to reach the elimination stage 6.
The federation now finds itself requesting the MRI scan result for the player.
In October, he played a starring role in securing Somalia’s first-ever Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) title with a 3-1 victory over South Sudan.
Abdihafid received the accolade of Best Player in the Tournament.
In their tournament debut, Somalia faces a formidable Group A, which includes host nation Algeria, Senegal, and Congo.
The team will be led by Coach Nur Mohamed Amin.
Introduced by FIFA in the 2009 Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria, MRI scans address the issue of over-aged players in Africa’s age-group competitions.
Several teams were disqualified from regional qualifiers in recent years due to over-aged players.
Chad, Djibouti, and Sudan faced disqualification from the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last year when wrist scans revealed some players exceeded the age limit.
Shirt No. | Name | Position | Birthdate | Current Club(Country) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | MOHAMED ADAN OSMAN | GK | 01.01.2007 | Hiliwa Academy (Somalia) |
2 | ABDULLE ABDULLAHI ABDULLE | DF | 03.11.2006 | Heegan S.C. (Somalia) |
3 | KHALID AHMED HASSAN | DF | 09.02.2006 | Darul Tarbiyah School (Somalia) |
4 | ABDULKADIR OSMAN MOHAMED | DF | 10.04.2007 | Jaziira S.C. (Somalia) |
5 | AYUB HASSAN MADEY | DF | 01.02.2007 | Jabir School (Somalia) |
6 | SAID MOHAMED ABDI | MF | 05.01.2006 | Umahospital F.C. (Somalia) |
7 | ABDALLA OMAR OSMAN | MF | 08.07.2006 | Gasco F.C. (Somalia) |
8 | MOHAMUD ABDUKADIR MUSTAF | MF | 07.02.2006 | Gasco F.C. (Somalia) |
9 | ABDIRAHIN MOHAMED DAHIR | FW | 26.06.2006 | Gasco F.C. (Somalia) |
10 | ABDIHAFID MOHAMED ABDI | MF | 10.06.2007 | Elman F.C. (Somalia) |
11 | BADRI HUSSEIN AHMED | FW | 03.08.2006 | Woxol F.C. (Somalia) |
12 | HASSAN ADAN BARREH | DF | 18.09.2007 | Leister F.C. U16 (England) |
13 | ABDIKADIR ALI MOHAMED | GK | 19.05.2006 | Badbaadbo F.C. (Somalia) |
14 | AHMED HASSAN MOHAMED | MF | 06.03.2007 | Banadir Zone School (Somalia) |
15 | MUHIDIN MUKHTAR ISMAN | DF | 01.10.2007 | Jabir School (Somalia) |
16 | ABDIRAHIN FARAH KULANE | FW | 10.02.2007 | Xamarweyne Academy (Somalia) |
17 | YASIIN ABDIRAHMAN ABDELQADIR | FW | 23.08.2006 | Lyn 1896 FK (Norway) |
18 | ABDIRAHMAN AHMED ABDALLA | DF | 01.05.2006 | Heegan S.C. (Somalia) |
20 | IDRIIS ABDIWAHAB ADEN | MF | 25.06.2007 | IFK Uddevalla U17 (Sweden) |
21 | ABDIASIS ABDIRAHMAN BAHUR | FW | 03.03.2006 | Toronto FC (Canada) |
22 | DINI MOHAMED DAHIR | FW | 01.06.2007 | Banadir Zone School (Somalia) |
23 | JABRIL ALI AHMED | GK | 20.03.2007 | Dalsan School (Somalia) |