Djibouti: fresh turmoil at the football federation
Following the resignation of its emblematic president, Souleiman Waberi, the Djiboutian Football Federation (FDF) is facing further upheaval
Sport News Africa · Author profile ·
Listen to this story
Audio version in preparation · read aloud by your browser meanwhile
Why did Suleiman Hassan Waberi suddenly resign as president of the Djiboutian Football Federation (FDF)? In his right of reply to our article, he still did not answer a question that has fuelled plenty of speculation in Djiboutian football.
Read also: Souleiman Hassan Waberi's right of reply
With the president gone, day-to-day business is being run by the executive bureau and the administration chosen by Waberi, including a member of his own family, namely Fathia Osman Ibrahim, his sister-in-law, who was appointed president of the women's football commission.
However, she stands accused by her vice-president, Neima Abdillahi Meraneh, of being the only one to travel with the women's national teams. On 30 April, Meraneh wrote an official letter to the FDF headed "rectification of discriminatory injustice " because Fathia Osman Ibrahim has once again been named head of delegation for the upcoming trip of the women's U17 team to Addis Abeba, "as if she were the only lady in the competition".
Cousins and a sister-in-law at the federation
Several people involved in Djiboutian football had warned Sport News Africa about Waberi's very "personal" running of the federation, as well as the arrangements. The federation's cameraman, for example, is the brother of the president of ACS Hayabley, who is very close to Waberi. "He often told us that this or that person was one of his cousins", says a former federation employee.
In this mixed bag, some important federation members have not even lived in Djibouti for years, such as Yacin Osman, the president of the ethics commission, who splits his time between Egypt (he also works for CAF) and Brussels. As for Mohamed Doualeh, an executive committee member, he lives in Nantes and is mostly very active on Facebook, criticising and insulting people who criticise the FDF.
Two audits under way: FIFA's and the ministry's
Officially, FIFA has not yet taken a position, even though Waberi knows he has support and remains CAF's third vice-president. As every year, football's world governing body sent an audit mission to Djibouti in late April for the usual audit. This time it is an unusual exercise, as the Ministry of Sport has also launched an audit of its own.
Curiously, FIFA and the ministry have not met, even though both are carrying out a similar exercise. However, according to early word and media leaks, the ministry-commissioned audit has reportedly already uncovered false invoices implicating several current FDF figures. FIFA, for its part, has not yet reacted.