History has been made in Somalia with the first ever live televised match.
Military club, Horseed beat rivals Police-owned Heegan 2-1 to win the General Da’ud Cup played on Thursday, the game going down in history as the most watched ever as millions of Somalis in and outside the country had the opportunity to catch a glimpse on TV, whilst tens of thousands turned up at Banadir Stadium.
Heegan, current domestic champions scored their only goal on 32 minutes, when Deeq Abdullahi Nur, placed a beautiful shoot into the opponent’s goal for a narrow lead at half time.
Horseed stepped up their attacks to compensate for the goal, but suffered a numerical blow when Kenyan-import Robert Kareithi Meme was sent off on 34 minutes.
Four minutes into the second half, Adaani Barre Isse equalized for Horseed before Daniel Matengo netted the match winner on the hour-mark.
Somali Football Federation (SFF) president, Abdiqani Said Arab savoured the historic moment which he described will go a long way in the growth of football in the country.
“In the months to come, we will at least try to have some of the ‘hottest’ matches televised and I am sure we will finally approach our target which is to get every Somalia match screened live” he added.
Champions Horseed were 45 million Somali shillings richer in addition to the giant trophy, whilst Heegan FC received 25 million Somali shillings for finishing runners-up.
General Da’ud Cup is an annual football event in Somalia held in memory of General Da’ud Abdulle Hersi, founder of the Somali Army, who passed away in 1965. The SFF has been organizing the event since 1972.
Source: Cafonline.com