Mahmoud Soufi

Mahmoud Soufi
Personal information
Full name	Mahmoud Yassen Soufi
Date of birth	20 October 1971
Place of birth	Mogadishu, Somalia
Date of death	2 June 2019 (aged 47)
Place of death	Qatar
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team
1984–1997	Al-Gharafa
1997–1998	Al Sadd SC
1998–2001	Al-Arabi
2001–2002	Muaither SC
International career
1988–1999	Qatar
	* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mahmoud Soufi (Arabic: محمود صوفي ياسين دعالة), was a naturalized Qatari football footballer who played for Al-Gharafa in the 1980s, and also represented the Qatar national team in the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life

Born in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, Soufi moved to Qatar as a young adult. He was eventually naturalized and chosen to represent the Qatar national team.

Club career

Soufi was originally playing with Al-Ittihad's Basketball team but was recommended to play football by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Faisal Al Thani.^[1] Soufi started playing for Al-Gharafa in the 1984–1985 season, the following season Al-Gharafa SC faced Al Ahli SC in the Sheikh Jassim Cup semi-finals, Soufi arrived late in the second-half, due to this the head coach left the stadium in frustration. When Soufi was substituted on he scored a brace and his teammate also scored to win the match by 3–2.^[1] He was tied with his fellow teammate Adel Khamis for the top goal-scorer award in the 1990/1991 season with 8 goals. And again in the 1993/1994 season alongside Ahmed Daham with 9 goals. He moved to Al-Arabi in 1998 and had also played for Al-Sadd and Muaither SC.

International career

Soufi represented the Qatar national team from 1988 to 1999 scoring 31 goals in 83 appearances for the national side. He was selected to play in the 1988 Gulf Cup, He also helped Qatar win their first Arabian Gulf Cup title in 1992 scoring against Kuwait and United Arab Emirates in the tournament. However, after retirement, Soufi had his citizenship rescinded and had to return to Somalia.^[2] Soufi was instrumental in World Cup Qualifiers, one of his most memorable moments was the game against China where he scored in the 87' minute, with his teammate Mansour Muftah following a few seconds later to win the game by 2–1. He holds the record for the most goals by a Qatari in the World Cup Qualifers with 12 goals in 20 matches.

Legacy

Soufi was remembered as a intelligent, tall, and highly skillful player in his playing days. To celebrate him, for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Aspire Zone Pitch 8 was selected to be named after him.^[3]

Death

Soufi died on 2 June, 2019.

Honours

Club

Al-Gharafa
- Qatar Stars League: 1991–92, 1997–98
- Qatari Second Division: 1986–87
- Emir of Qatar Cup: 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98

Al-Sadd
- Sheikh Jassim Cup: 1997
- Qatar Cup: 1998

Individual

Top goal-scorer: 1990–91, 1993–94

References

^ ^a ^b Hamad, Abu (17 June 2019). "Goodbye Soufi..."
^ Abrar Shawhan (8 January 2023). "محمود صوفي سبب الوفاة". news.essahra.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
^ Newspaper, The Peninsula (1 November 2025). "FIFA U-17 World Cup pitches in Aspire Zone named after Qatari football legends". thepeninsulaqatar.com. Retrieved 4 November 2025.

External links

Mahmoud Yassen Souf at WorldFootball.net
Mahmoud Yassen Souf at National-Football-Teams.com
Mahmoud Yassen Souf at Olympics.com
Mahmoud Yassen Souf at Olympedia

This biographical article related to association football in Qatar, about a forward, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[:0-1] Hamad, Abu (17 June 2019). "Goodbye Soufi..."

[2] Abrar Shawhan (8 January 2023). "محمود صوفي سبب الوفاة". news.essahra.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 July 2023.

[3] Newspaper, The Peninsula (1 November 2025). "FIFA U-17 World Cup pitches in Aspire Zone named after Qatari football legends". thepeninsulaqatar.com. Retrieved 4 November 2025.

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