Saadiq Mohammed, currently a midfielder for the Bradley Braves, was once targeted for being a soccer player in his native Mogadishu, Somalia.
Coming from an atmosphere controlled by the terrorist group Al-Shabab, Mohammed had few options. He could not escape Somalia to his his place of birth in Kenya, because there he was targeted for his ethnicity.
However, with the help of friends and constant perseverance, Mohammed has built a soccer career for himself at St. Louis University, one of the country’s best college teams, and the Bradley Braves. Though he met many bumps along the way, Mohammed has used soccer to build a place of belonging for himself.
Surrounded by tragedy, Saadiq Mohammed still rose through the soccer ranks
Born in Kenya and raised in his mother’s native Somalia, Mohammed found himself surrounded by tragedy throughout his early life. His father died when he was a toddler, his sister was killed in Somalia, and his best friend died in an attempt to find a better life in Europe. With the rest of his family scattered across the world, Mohammed still found himself in danger any time he went to see his own mother back in Mogadishu.
Mohammed’s home city was ravaged by the terrorist group Al-Shabab, “the most lethal militant group in Africa.” Neverthless, among war and constant terrorist attacks, Mohammed grew to be a rising soccer star. He played with Banadir, one of Somalia’s “high-profile” teams, then the U17 and senior national teams. He also played a brief stint in the Kenyan Premier League.
A target from each direction
Mohammed’s passion, soccer, and his success made him a target. He played soccer his whole life, bringing the Somalian youth team to victory in the Fall 2012 championships against Sudan. Thus began his problems.
“Just imagine, if we won this game with this little slice of peace, what would it be if we had more peace?” he said, using his platform to speak out about the terrorist group Al-Shabab which plagued his native Somalia. That same night he received messages telling him, “you’re a dead man.”
A move to Kenya did not help his situation much. In a sweep targeting Somali immigrants, all conflated with Al-Shabab, Mohammed ended up in a Kenyan prison. Even once they released him from prison, Mohammed’s soccer team ended his contract. Again, most likely for his being Somali.
“I fear that if I return to Kenya or Somalia that I will be harmed, detained, beaten, whipped and/or killed,” Mohammed wrote on his asylum application. His set his hopes on the US, landing first in Miami, then flying across the country looking for a soccer team to join.
Saadiq Mohammed plays for the Bradley Braves
“When you have an education, you can try different things in life,” Mohammed remarks. “You can help society. It’s like, when you have education, it’s very helpful to other people, not just by yourself, because people can learn from you.”
Thanks to filmmaker J. R. Biersmith, who followed Mohammed’s team back in Somalia for the film Men in the Arena, and his sister Jessica Herschend, Mohammed was able to get situated in St. Louis. After a semester in a local high school and intensive ACT studying, Mohammed matriculated at St. Louis University.
“He wasn’t really recruited,” explains Coach Mike McGinty of the SLU men’s soccer team.“I had no idea he would ever play soccer at SLU; I just wanted him to come to SLU.” However, Mohammed has proven himself a valuable addition to one of the best college soccer teams in the country. He received the 2016 Carl O. Bauer Award, presented to the top amateur sportsman in the St. Louis area, and the Missouri Athletic Club’s Jack Buck Award. After the 2016-17 season, Mohammed transferred to join the Bradley University’s Bradley Braves team, with which he currently plays.
Read more of Mohammed’s story here.
