The Djibouti national football team was founded in 1979. It affiliated to the Confederation of African Football in 1986 and joined FIFA in 1994. The team did not win a full FIFA international match until 2007. The unlucky opponents that day were Somalia.
Football has been played in Djibouti long before the current team was created. Until 1977 the country was known as French Somaliland. The team played a few games under that name between 1947 and Djibouti’s independence.
Djibouti’s first international after independence was a 1983 match against Ethiopia. The same two sides had contested French Somaliland’s first game. The match was not a success and Ethiopia won 8-1. The team first managed to avoid defeat in 1986 by drawing 1-1 against the same opposition.
The team’s first victory came in 1988. Djibouti beat South Yemen 4-1 at home. During the 1990’s, the team began to play in more competitions and joined FIFA. Despite this progression, the team has never qualified for an African Cup of Nations.
Djibouti entered their first world cup at the 2002 competition. Drawn against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the qualifying round, the team lost 10-1 on aggregate.
Ranked 204th in the FIFA Rankings, Djibouti are one of the lowest placed teams in the world. Without more competitive practice they have little hope of progression.
World cup 2018
Fixtures to be announced.
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