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Abdi Salim took a chance on playing for Somalia. Now, he’s captain.

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Former Syracuse center back Abdi Salim could’ve played for Kenya, United States or Somalia. He holds citizenship in Kenya and the U.S. but decided to represent his parents’ native Somalia. For Salim, he was committed to whoever was “showing more love.”

The decision was a long time coming. In 2020, he couldn’t feature for Somalia’s U20 side due to travel restrictions stemming from COVID-19. But this past summer, he connected with national team coaches through Instagram and announced he’d represent Somalia in all international competitions.

“That opportunity was presented first with Somalia,” Salim said. “So I mean, I couldn’t say no.”

Though both of his parents are Somalian, Salim was born in Kenya. In 2003, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Buffalo where Salim was introduced to soccer. There, he went on to play collegiately for Buffalo State before transferring to SU. Following a national championship win his senior season, Salim joined Major League Soccer’s Orlando City in 2022. Now, he captains the Somali national team, tasked with leading the country to its first-ever FIFA World Cup berth.

Salim’s parents are Somali Bantus — an ethnic group in the country that was forced out during the 1991 Somali Civil War. They were displaced from their homes and ended up at a refugee camp in Nairobi, Kenya, where Salim was born.

Eventually, after obtaining visas to the U.S., the family moved to the west side of Buffalo. The community has a large Somali population, said Salim’s brother, Saleman.

Salim initially began playing soccer for a local, lower level team in Buffalo before Empire United (now known as Rochester New York FC) coaches Paul Valenti and Rory Charcholla heard about him through a friend. They asked him to try out and Salim made the cut. Despite worrying about missing his at-home responsibilities while his mother was at work, Salim was convinced by a friend to join the club.

With Empire United, Salim left his comfort zone. Valenti and Charcholla moved him from midfield to center back. With the change, he excelled. Salim’s athleticism and reliable 1-on-1 defending led him to Buffalo State, where he played a year with Saleman, before transferring to Syracuse.

Salim spent two years at SU and started in 19 games during its national championship-winning season. He then entered the MLS Superdraft where Orlando City selected him with the 17th overall pick. The next challenge was making his mark on the international stage.

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When Somalia’s coaching staff informed Salim he’d captain the side against Niger on Oct. 14 — the country’s first friendly since 2021 — he felt “honored.”

“It was definitely an eye opener,” Salim said. “It kind of hit me because I’m not just the captain of a club, I’m the captain of a country.”

Despite having never served as a captain before, Salim said he sets an example. He utilizes qualities learned at Syracuse when head coach Ian McIntyre made players enroll in a semester-long leadership course.

Former teammates at SU instantly reacted to Salim’s new role, some texting him that they had no idea he was Somalian. McIntyre said he “could not be more proud of Abdi,” and that the Orange are all big fans of Somalia now.

Across a four-day period, Somalia played two friendlies against Niger and Sierra Leone. And though it picked up two losses, Salim is confident that his team grew and gelled.

When playing with his international teammates, Salim said he immediately spotted their reliance on athleticism — a stark difference from Orlando City’s playstyle and its emphasis on build-up play and controlling possession. Other adjustments included basics like communication. Though he can’t speak Somalian, Salim can understand it because his mother spoke it frequently when he was growing up.

The curiosity in opposing lifestyles goes both ways. Many of Somalia’s local players ask Salim about the U.S. During his first camp with the team in October, Salim was often asked whether he could bring back equipment from America. The Somali team didn’t have much access to quality training gear.

“Speaking with them, it definitely humbles me,” Salim said. “It makes me appreciate the stuff that we usually look past at in America.”

Prior to visiting Africa for international duty, Salim said he hadn’t been there since leaving Kenya as a child. Salim described his return as “eye opening.” He took advantage of his time there by traveling around Morocco, where Somalia took on Niger and Sierra Leone.

This month, during Salim’s second international break of the 2023 season, Somalia held camp in Tunisia and is slated to play Algeria and Uganda. Salim is thankful for the experiences he’s been afforded with Somalia, calling it a “full circle moment.”

“He left there as a refugee and returned as the king,” Saleman said.

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