Abdi Salim
Somali footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abdi Muya Salim (born 1 April 2001) is a Somali professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Somalia national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdi Muya Salim[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 April 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Nairobi, Kenya | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2018 | Delaware SC | ||
| 2018–2019 | Empire United | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | Buffalo State Bengals | 18 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Syracuse Orange | 30 | (1) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Ocean City Nor'easters | 7 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Orlando City | 3 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Orlando City B (loan) | 20 | (2) |
| 2024 | → Detroit City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2025 | San Antonio FC | 11 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Somalia | 5 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 October 2024 | |||
Early years
Born a refugee in Nairobi, Kenya, Salim grew up in the Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab. Having applied for asylum in the United States before Salim was born, his parents were granted a visa in 2003 and relocated once Salim had recovered from malaria.[2] They settled in Buffalo, New York. Salim attended Hutchinson Central Technical High School and played his first-ever organized soccer game with youth club Delaware SC in 2013. In 2018, he was recruited for Rochester-based Empire United where he captained the US Developmental Academy under-17 and under-19 teams during a two-year spell.[3]
College career
In 2019, Salim began playing college soccer for the Buffalo State Bengals, a Division III State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) program at Buffalo State University where older brother Saleman had already played the 2018 season.[2] He played one season, starting 18 games, scoring one goal and leading the Bengals in minutes played. He was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year.[4]
Ahead of the 2020 season, Salim entered the transfer portal and joined Division I program Syracuse Orange of the Atlantic Coast Conference. With the season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he started the first eight games of the season before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear against Bowling Green Falcons on 23 February 2021 and underwent surgery, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2020–21 spring season and the subsequent 2021 fall campaign.[5][6] He returned for the 2022 season, playing in 22 of a possible 25 games including every minute of all three ACC Tournament games and all five in the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse did the clean sweep of 2022 ACC regular season, 2022 ACC tournament and 2022 NCAA Division I tournament titles, the first national championship win in program history.[5][7]
Club career
Ocean City Nor'easters
In May 2022, during the college offseason, Salim joined USL League Two side Ocean City Nor'easters.[8] He made seven appearances as Ocean City went undefeated and topped the Mid Atlantic Division.[9]
Orlando City
On 21 December 2022, Salim was selected in the first round (17th overall) of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City.[10] After training with the club in preseason, he was signed to a one-year contract with three additional club option years on 14 February 2023.[11] On 4 March, Salim made his debut for the team when he started in a scoreless draw with FC Cincinnati.[12] Later on 26 March, Salim made his debut with the reserve team, Orlando City B, and scored his first professional goal in a 3–1 road victory over Philadelphia Union II.[13]
ON 27 February 2024, Salim made his continental debut when he came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Rafael Santos as Orlando City defeated Cavalry FC 3–1 in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[14][15] On 5 December 2024, it was announced that Orlando City were allowing Salim's contract to expire at the end of the season and that they were not interested in pursuing an extension.[16]
Loan to Detroit City
On 24 June 2024, Salim joined USL Championship team Detroit City on loan for the remainder of the season. He had previously made a trial appearance for the club in a friendly against Liga MX side Pumas UNAM, in which he scored the winning goal, two days earlier.[17] On 19 November it was announced that Salim would be returning to Orlando City at the conclusion of the season.[18]
San Antonio FC
Salim joined Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati's preseason tour in Clearwater, Florida in January 2025, but he was not signed.[19] On 20 June, Salim signed with USL Championship club San Antonio FC on a twenty-five day contract.[20] A day later, Salim made his debut for the team when he came on as a 46th-minute substitute for Almir Soto in a 4–2 loss to New Mexico United.[21] On 22 July, San Antonio FC signed Salim for the rest of the season following the expiration of the short-term contract.[22]
International
In October 2023, Salim was called up to represent the Somalia national team at senior level.[23] He made his debut on 14 October, captaining the team in a 3–0 defeat to Niger.
Career statistics
College
| School | Season | Division | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo State Bengals | 2019 | SUNYAC (Div. III) | 18 | 1 |
| Syracuse Orange | 2020–21 | ACC (Div. I) | 8 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 30 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 48 | 2 | ||
Club
- As of 25 October 2025
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Playoffs | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ocean City Nor'easters | 2022[9] | USL League Two | 7 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Orlando City | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Orlando City B (loan) | 2023 | MLS Next Pro | 16 | 2 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Detroit City (loan) | 2024 | USL Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| San Antonio FC | 2025 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
- Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup
International
- As of match played 10 June 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somalia | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Honours
Ocean City Nor'easters
Syracuse Orange
- Atlantic Coast Conference regular season: 2022[25]
- Atlantic Coast Conference tournament: 2022[25]
- NCAA College Cup: 2022[25]
Individual
