Few 21-year-old footballers can boast a resume that includes stints at two of England’s most iconic top-flight youth academies, senior international caps, and a current spot in the eighth tier of the English non-league system, all connected by a serendipitous discovery on a football-focused professional networking app. That is the extraordinary reality for Liverpudlian central midfielder Jarma Mohamed, who has earned a recall to Somalia’s national men’s football squad ahead of their pivotal 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying double-header against four-time tournament winners Ghana this month, capping a whirlwind 12 months for the rising talent.
Mohamed’s introduction to football began before he was even old enough to join official youth sides, as his mother grew frustrated with him kicking household items around their Toxteth home. By age three, she was pleading with local youth teams to let her son train, despite the standard minimum registration age of four. A chance encounter with an Everton scout watching him play led to his first formal registration with the Merseyside club at four, a period when cross-youth-club movement was permitted for young players. After splitting training time between Everton and Liverpool through his early childhood, he formally signed with Liverpool’s academy at nine, before making the move to Manchester City’s renowned youth setup two years later. During his time at the elite academies, he trained and played alongside top emerging talent including Liverpool’s rising first-team star Jayden Danns and England internationals Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly.
Following his release from Manchester City, Mohamed secured a coveted two-year full-time scholarship at Wigan Athletic, a period he describes as one of the fondest memories of his career. There, he trained daily, lived in club-provided accommodation, traveled across the country for youth fixtures, wore the captain’s armband on multiple occasions, and competed in the prestigious FA Youth Cup. He departed Wigan in 2024, and spent subsequent spells in non-league football with Bamber Bridge and Newcastle Town, before reaching a career crossroads this summer as he weighed up his next professional move.
His career path shifted entirely when he connected with a talent scouting platform called Player, a mobile application designed as a LinkedIn-style hub for footballers to showcase their skills to clubs. It was through this platform that eighth-tier Isthmian League South Central side Jersey Bulls, an amateur club where no players receive salaries, discovered his profile. The platform’s management facilitated an introduction, and Mohamed relocated to the Channel Island after arranging a dual role that aligned with his UEFA C coaching qualification: he now works as a youth development coach for local young players while anchoring the Bulls’ midfield. The side has enjoyed an unbeaten start to their current league campaign, surging up the eighth-tier table.
Eligible to represent Somalia through his Somali grandfather, who was part of Liverpool’s large, established Somali diaspora community, Mohamed earned his first senior call-up to the Somali national team earlier this year. The moment arrived unexpectedly on a random Wednesday afternoon in his kitchen, and he recalls being overjoyed at the news. He made his international debut against Mauritius in March, as Somalia made history by advancing to the final round of AFCON 2027 qualifiers for the first time ever, defeating the island nation on penalties after two consecutive goalless draws. Ranked 200th in the world by FIFA, Somalia is the lowest-ranked side to reach this stage of qualifying.
The current Somalia squad draws heavily from the global Somali diaspora, with players hailing from the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, and the UK, including another player from Liverpool, alongside domestic talent competing in Somalia’s local leagues. Mohamed notes that despite the diverse geographic backgrounds, the group operates as a tight-knit, ego-free family, all united by a shared drive to deliver positive results for the country. Due to persistent security concerns in Somalia, the national team has played all of their qualifying fixtures on neutral or opponent home soil, and their upcoming two matches against Ghana will be hosted in the Ghanaian city of Takoradi.
Somalia has already faced two tough opponents in Group C: they fell to a narrow 1-0 loss to The Gambia via an 83rd-minute match-winning goal, before conceding two late goals in the 89th minute and stoppage time to lose 2-0 to three-time AFCON champions Ivory Coast, a side stacked with elite top-flight talent including Real Madrid’s summer signing Yan Diomande, Atalanta’s Franck Kessie, and former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe. The side currently sits second from bottom in the group on goal difference, one spot above a Ghana team that has struggled for form under interim manager Kim Bjorkegren following a winless opening two fixtures under former head coach Carlos Queiroz.
As he prepares to line up against Ghana’s top-tier players who compete in the world’s most prestigious leagues, Mohamed remains grounded in his uncomplicated approach to the game. “If you play the name or an occasion you’re losing before you’ve even kicked a ball,” he explained. “I just play who’s in front of me and keep it at that. You know the players’ levels, the qualities that they have that you have to respect, but you also have to back yourself. You’re sharing the same pitch for a reason, it’s not by accident.” Rejecting the idea that Somalia should be satisfied with simply competing for experience, Mohamed says the squad’s sole explicit target is to qualify for the 2027 AFCON finals, co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and points to their narrow competitive showings against Gambia and Ivory Coast as proof they can compete with the group’s top sides.