Somali World in One City superfan says: ‘We’re here to build bridges, not walls’

A Superfan of the Somali team wants the community to “build bridges not walls”.

Yusuf Yassin is the joint manager of this year’s Somalia team in the World in One City football tournament, alongside Fuad Mohamed.

Now in its fourth year, the tournament formed by Toxteth man Imad Ali generates as much excitement as any game in the English Premier League, some would say there is more. Yusuf is one of the inspirations behind the increase in support for the team in Yemen, who wanted to emulate the “ferocious” support that the Somali team has.

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Yusuf told the Liverpool ECHO: “Everyone wants to be like us. Even neutral fans only appear because of our fans.

“There are other great fans like Congo, but I think we’re the best because it’s organic. The chants we have sometimes are a bit rude, but that’s football for you, always trying to gain an advantage, laughing like good and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

The Somali side face a clash with 2022 winners England on June 19. The Somali team and England have four points with Congo on two. If Congo are to win, the Somali side must win as a draw would see them level on goal difference with England.

Congo play first on June 19. Should they win, this sets up a tie with the Somali team and England.

Yusuf said: “It will be a home game for us as the fans will be into it. I think we will win and top the group. I am confident that the fans will play their part. It is a must-win game.

“I spoke to the players afterwards, we laugh and they say the fans are kind of ferocious and can chase them (players from the other teams) out of the game.

“We’re notorious for that and when people tell us that, it reinforces that we have to keep doing it. We hope that tomorrow will be one of them.”

Yusuf added: “Some fans are amazed by what we say. Some fans follow us rather than the game.”

Yusuf believes that they are the favorites of neutral fans, he said: “I don’t know why, I think people like us a lot, because we are funny, we support our team with unwavering support. Even when we give in. a goal, the fans are always chanting, if we don’t play well the fans are always there non-stop chanting, chanting, chanting”.

Somali fans regularly chant: “We are Somalis, we do what we want, we do what we want, we do what we want. We are Somalis. We do what we want.”

In 2023 they reached the semi-final. Yusuf said: “The best time was the first year (2021) on Tiber when we had the tie against Yemen. They were one zero up, then Ahmed Shirrah scored the equalizer with a minute left, a header, it was the quarter-final.

“If you could string that moment together, it was incredible because everyone was just rooting for him, even neutrals. If you could single out one goal from the four years, it’s a big one.” They lost that match on penalties.

Yusuf managed the team in 2021 and 22, was a fan in 2023 and returned as joint manager, so he said he had seen it “from both angles”.

He is happy the tournament has grown so managers no longer have to worry about off-field issues such as getting kits and “can focus on the field” and said the event “brings people and the nations together.”

He added: “Everyone wants to win; at the end, shake hands and have something to talk about. Imagine he wasn’t here; people wouldn’t have this kind of show, it’s great for our area, great for the people, it’s a diverse one that doesn’t exclude anyone, you can see that in the Rest of the World Team.

“As a Somali community, I think sometimes people outside think that we are a closed community, one hundred percent, that is not the case. I’ve been in Toxteth and the South End for the better part of 100 years and it’s been a heartbeat. and a food of the city, as well as of others.

“They claim that about the West African community, the Caribbean or the Arab community, it’s hard to reach the communities. That’s not the case, they just don’t know how to talk to us.

“This is to prove one hundred percent that we are here to build bridges and not walls. Once you know us, we are good.”

For matches, interviews with results and pictures, visit WIOC HERE

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