JIGJIGA – Registered in England with centers in Somalia, Goroje Goalkeeping Academy expanded its activities into neighboring Ethiopia and Somaliland as part of the academy’s policy to produce talented goalkeepers in the horn of Africa region.
Founded in July 2018 by the English FA licensed goalkeeper trainer, Abdirizaq Farah Omar AKA Goroje, the academy has for the first time organized a training course in the Somali region in Ethiopia where 12 elite goalkeepers and 3 goalkeeper coaches were trained during a course that ended on Thursday December 9, 2021.
Goroje Goalkeeping Academy Leader
While speaking at the conclusion ceremony of the training course, instructor Goroje, who is the father of Somali national team player, Yonis Farah, said that his academy aims to increase the quality and quantity of goalkeepers in the Somali-inhabited regions across the horn of Africa.
On his side, the minister for youth and sport of the Somali State in Ethiopia, Mohamed Mahdi, who addressed at the conclusion gathering of the training course held at Jigjiga Stadium, thanked instructor Abdirizaq Farah Omar AKA Goroje, for spending time, energy and money to help the region acquire talented goalkeepers and goalkeeper trainers.
“This is the first time you came to us to train our goalkeepers and I hope it won’t be the last time. Your generosity matters to us a lot and we are expecting that you will soon come back to Jigjiga to train more goalkeepers” the minister, Mohamed Mahdi, told the visiting instructor, Abdirizaq Farah Omar AKA Goroje, who promised that such training programs will continue.
Earlier, the instructor conducted another high level training course in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, where a total of 30 participants including 20 goalkeepers and 10 goalkeeper trainers benefited from training courses which ran between 4-6 December 2021. This was also the first such program the academy organized in Somaliland since its formation on 14th of July 2018.
