Police occupy Djibouti FA headquarters as club presidents hold extraordinary assembly to remove Fifa council member
Police occupied the headquarters of the Djibouti Football Federation on Monday after a group of club presidents called an extraordinary general assembly to remove FDF president and Fifa council member Souleiman Waberi and his executive committee. The federation said police first occupied its national technical centre at about 5.30pm on Sunday without presenting an administrative document or court order.
On Monday a larger police contingent ordered Waberi, members of the executive committee, staff and other federation members to leave the premises, the FDF said. The federation reported that 16 club presidents then entered the building under police escort and held what it described as a “purported” EGM, rejected as illegitimate because required notice periods and electoral procedures were not respected, and declared any decisions taken “null and void”. Sources in Djibouti, however, said the number of delegates required by the statutes was present, that they voted unanimously to remove Waberi and the executive committee, and that an interim committee was established to oversee the federation.
The confrontation follows weeks of mounting opposition to Waberi, who is also a member of the Confederation of African Football executive committee and a Fifa council member and is described in the report as a close ally of Gianni Infantino. At the start of September a coalition of 27 clubs announced its intention to vote on the removal of the executive committee and said it had secured the two-thirds support it said was required; the FDF disputed that calculation, stating it has 67 members and that 45 votes would be needed to trigger an extraordinary assembly. The dispute grew as additional clubs and delegates joined the campaign, and the secretary of state for sport, Fatouma Ali Abdallah, ordered the FDF to convene an extraordinary general assembly within 72 hours.
The FDF has appealed to Fifa and Caf, arguing that the use of state security forces to remove elected officials could constitute interference in the affairs of the national association and warning that consequences could include suspension, exclusion of Djiboutian clubs and national teams from international competitions, and a freeze on development programmes and funding. The Guardian has requested a comment from Fifa.
It is understood Waberi and several other officials could be facing charges this week after a police investigation of the FDF related to suspected embezzlement and money laundering was completed. They were arrested in September 2024 following a government inspection that identified financial and administrative irregularities, including weaknesses in procurement, cash management and financial controls; the government investigation raised concerns about anomalies in payments to third parties, failure to pay tax on salaries and wages and “misuse of cash payments” totalling almost £500,000, after which the police carried out its investigation. Waberi has denied wrongdoing and said in August that Fifa’s “monitoring mechanisms have revealed no indication of wrongdoing regarding the funds it disbursed”.
Fifa, which along with Caf contributes more than $1m (£760,000) a year to the FDF through its forward development programme, has financed football infrastructure and youth-development programmes in Djibouti, including the Douda academy and artificial-pitch projects in Arta and Dikhil. It is understood various tenders are under investigation because they did not comply with standard procedures; several foreign workers who were not in compliance with immigration regulations were sent back to their home countries, meaning construction was halted. According to several Caf and Fifa employees and contractors, the projects in Djibouti are “a complete farce”. “We pass on the information but nothing happens,” said one contractor. “The money has gone missing, the projects are never finished – or if they are, it’s just a bare-bones version – and nobody says a word. It breaks my heart for the young people who just want to play football.”
Waberi and other officials potentially facing charges this week and the FDF’s appeal to Fifa and Caf over state involvement set immediate stakes: the federation has warned of possible suspension, exclusion from international competitions and a freeze on development funding should governing bodies find there has been unlawful interference.
