Djibouti Football Federation accused of misusing funds from FIFA

FIFA and CAF provides more than $1m a year to Djibouti’s federation, who have had allegations made about use of funds.The tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti is embroiled in a football corruption row after a government audit accused its federation, largely funded by FIFA, of favouritism and inadequate competitive bidding.The recent success of Cape Verde – which reached the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – has shown that small African nations can succeed with the right organisation.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4What are the key talking points before Man Utd’s new season? What to knowlist 2 of 4Premier League form guide: Ranking the title contenders for 2026-27 seasonlist 3 of 4Northern Italy seeks to keep the pressure on the south as Serie A returnslist 4 of 4Premier League is back: All to know as the 2026-27 season kicks offend of listDjibouti footballers are furious, however, at their federation over allegations it has misused money from world football governing body FIFA, which provides the vast majority of its funding.Funds provided by Saudi Arabia for a new headquarters for the Djibouti-football-federation" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="190485" data-entity-type="organization">Djibouti Football Federation are also said to have been misused.One local club manager, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that his team would boycott this year’s league unless there was a change in leadership.“The (Djibouti federation’s) resources are not used for the development of football,” he alleged.“When I see what Cape Verde is capable of achieving… I tell myself there is a structural problem within our federation,” he added.Djibouti’s national football team in action during the FIFA-world-cup-2026-african-qualifiers" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="190486" data-entity-type="event">FIFA World Cup 2026 African qualifiers [File: Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP]The allegations stem from a 2024 government inspector’s report, recently obtained by AFP, that accuses the federation of “favouritism” in awarding the contract for the headquarters and overpricing for many elements of the contract.FIFA, which along with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) provides more than $1m a year to Djibouti’s federation, did not respond to queries from AFP.