According to the federation Mr Barre was arrested  Sunday in the southern outskirts of the capital while on his way to  Elasha-Biyaha village along the road linking Mogadishu to the town of Agoye about 30 kilometers south of the city. The town of Afgoye witnessed the arrest of 31 World Cup fans earlier in the month.   His fate remains unknown.

The militants have not given an explanation to the arrest. Barre's wife said she was very shocked by his detention in  militant-controlled territory. “He left home a little while before midday, I didn’t receive any call from him for hours and when I called his phone, Alshabab militants told me he had been jailed by them," Mrs Sahra Mahmoud said in a telephone interview Monday.  

“I could not control myself as I was talking to the militants, my phone fell to the ground. I am shocked and still can't come to terms with it," the mother of four added. 

Barre's wife said  she didn’t slept at all last night and was constantly worrying about her husband's fate, since he had fallen into the hands of militants who mostly do not arrest but murder those they detain. 

“The told me that he was guilty, refusing to give details about a "crime" he had committeed,"  Sahra Mahmoud said.

Late last year the same militant group, with ties to Osama Bin Laden’s Al -Qaeda network detained and tortured another football club chairman and coach, Towfik Ismail who was accused of misguiding and leading young boys from the Islamic faith. Towfik was training his young boys when he was snatched from a football stadium in the volatile north-eastern part of the capital Mogadishu. Towfik was later released on bail.

Militants have termed football “A satanic act” against Islam and banned playing a ball or watching international games in areas under their control.  

Since the start of FIFA world cup, Somali militants have killed at  three people and arrested scores in a number of different areas, simply for watching the World Cup.

By Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar.

First Vice- president and Head of International Relations, Somali Sports Press Association