Mohamed Abdulahi Awad (; born 7 May 1994) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

club Sliema Wanderers. Born in New Zealand, he represents

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

at international level.

Club career

Awad began his senior career at

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship () was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a myriad of short-lived football leagues in ...

club

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

, after a spell in the youth system at

. After failing to make any appearances for Waikato, Awad signed for Western Suburbs in 2013. In 2014, Awad moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, playing

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for

St. John's Red Storm The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 17 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 17 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencin ...

. Between 2015 and 2017, Awad played college soccer for SIU Edwardsville Cougars and domestic football for Australian club Inglewood United. In 2018, Awad moved back to New Zealand, signing for Eastern Suburbs. Awad made 22 league appearances, scoring three times, during his two seasons at the club, winning the 2018–19 New Zealand Football Championship. In 2020, Awad signed for Auckland City.

International career

On 15 June 2021, Awad made his debut for

, in a 1–0 friendly loss against

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

Personal life

Born in New Zealand, prior to receiving his call up for the Somalia national team, Awad had never been to the country.

References

1994 births Living people Naturalized citizens of Somalia Somalian men's footballers 21st-century Somalian sportsmen Somalia men's international footballers New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand people of Somali descent Men's association football wingers WaiBOP United players Western Suburbs FC players St. John's Red Storm men's soccer players Inglewood United FC players SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer players Eastern Suburbs AFC players Auckland City FC players New Zealand Football Championship players New Zealand expatriate men's association footballers New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Stirling Macedonia FC players Association footballers from Hamilton, New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen {{Somalia-footy-bio-stub