Ali Musse
Somali footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ali Musse (born 1 January 1996[citation needed]) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC and the Somalia national team.
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Ali Musse with Cavalry in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ali Musse | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 January 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mogadishu, Somalia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Cavalry FC | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Earl Grey CC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2009 | Winnipeg South End United SC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | WSA Winnipeg | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | ||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Tyler Apaches | 17 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | NAIT Ooks | 9 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | WSA Winnipeg | 39 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps U-23 | 4 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | WSA Winnipeg | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Calgary Foothills | 22 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Valour FC | 13 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 1. FCA Darmstadt | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Cavalry FC | 99 | (29) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Canada U17 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Somalia | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 18, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of October 14, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Early life
Born in Somalia, Ali moved to Canada at a young age.[1] He began playing youth football with Earl Grey Community Centre.[2] From 2005 to 2009, he played with Winnipeg South End United SC.[3] In 2010, he began playing with WSA Winnipeg.[3] He also played for the Manitoba provincial team in 2009 and 2011.[3] In 2011, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy.[3] After returning to WSA Winnipeg, he returned to the Whitecaps Academy in 2014.[3] In 2013, he was awarded the Manitoba Soccer Special Achievement Award.[2]
College career
In 2015, he attended Tyler Junior College, where he played for the men's soccer team.[4][5] He scored two goals in his debut over Jacksonville College on August 29.[6] With Tyler, he advanced to the national finals, where they were defeated by the Louisburg College Hurricances.[7]
In 2017, he began attending the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.[8] He made his debut on September 9, scoring all four goals in a 4–1 victory over the University of Alberta-Augustana, earning Player of the Game honours.[9]
Club career
From 2011 to 2013, he played for WSA Winnipeg in the Premier Development League.[10] In 2014, while with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy, he also played with the Vancouver Whitecaps U23 in the PDL.[11] Afterwards, he returned to WSA Winnipeg.[12][13]
In 2017, Musse began playing for the Calgary Foothills. In the season debut on May 5, 2017, he scored the winning goal in a 4–3 victory over the TSS FC Rovers.[14] He helped the team reach the PDL final in 2017.[15][16] In 2018, he scored five goals in four playoff games as the Foothills won the PDL title, including scoring two goals in extra time in the championship final victory over Reading United AC.[17][18]
In February 2019, Musse signed a professional contract with Canadian Premier League club Valour FC, from his hometown of Winnipeg.[19][20] FC Edmonton had also sought to sign him, with his family now based out of Edmonton, but he chose to return to Winnipeg and sign with Valour to re-unite with head coach Rob Gale who he had played for during his time in the Canada national team program.[21][22] He scored his first goal on June 2, 2019, against FC Edmonton in a 1–0 victory.[23] Ahead of the 2020 season, he was released by the club.[24][25]
In 2020, he signed with German club 1. FCA Darmstadt in the seventh-tier Gruppenliga.[26]
Cavalry FC
In June 2021, Musse returned to Calgary and signed with Canadian club Cavalry FC on a one-year contract.[27] On July 14, 2022, he scored a brace in a 3–0 victory over HFX Wanderers FC.[28] He missed much of his first season due to injury.[29] On October 2, 2022, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Valour FC to clinch a playoff spot for the club.[30][31] Musse led the club in scoring in 2022 with seven goals and four assists, across all competitions.[32] In January 2023, Musse signed a new two-year deal with Cavalry, with an option for 2025.[33][34] At the end of the 2023 season, Musse won the CPL Player's Player of the Year award[35][36] and was named to the CPL Best XI.[37] On August 3, 2024, he scored a brace in a 2–1 victory over Atlético Ottawa, in his first match following a three-month absence due to injury.[38]
Upon conclusion of the 2025 season, the club announced that it was unlikely that Musse would re-sign for 2026. However, in March 2026 Musse would sign a 3 year contract extension, keeping him with the club through the 2028 season.[39][40]
International career
Canada
In the summer of 2007, he attended a Canada national team evaluation camp.[41] In November 2011, Musse received his first Canadian youth national team call-up for a Canada U16 camp in Costa Rica.[2] He was subsequently named to the squad for the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where he won a bronze medal, as well as playing at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[2][42]
Somalia
In December 2019, Musse was called up by Somalia for the 2019 CECAFA Cup.[43][44] He made his debut as a starter in the opening match in a 0–0 draw against Djibouti.[44]
Personal
Career statistics
- As of November 9, 2025[47]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| WSA Winnipeg | 2011[10] | PDL | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | |||
| 2012[10] | 12 | 2 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||||
| 2013[10] | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | 14 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 39 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 10 | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 | 2014[11] | PDL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 2 | ||
| WSA Winnipeg | 2015[12] | PDL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2016[13] | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Calgary Foothills | 2017[48] | PDL | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 4 | ||
| 2018[49] | 9 | 3 | 4 | 5 | — | — | 13 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 12 | ||
| Valour FC | 2019 | Canadian Premier League | 13 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| 1. FCA Darmstadt | 2020-21[50] | Gruppenliga Darmstadt | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| Cavalry FC | 2021 | Canadian Premier League | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2022 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 7 | |||
| 2023 | 25 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 7 | |||
| 2024 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 | ||
| 2025 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 9 | ||
| Total | 99 | 27 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 122 | 31 | ||
| Career total | 183 | 49 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 213 | 61 | ||
Honours
Tyler Apaches
- NJCAA Division 1 Tournament runner-up: 2015[51]
Calgary Foothills
Cavalry FC
Canada U17
- CONCACAF U-17 Championship third place: 2013[57]
Individual
- Manitoba Soccer Special Achievement Award: 2013[58]
- Canadian Premier League Player's Player of the Year: 2023[59]
- Canadian Premier League Best XI: 2023,[60] 2024[61]
- Somali Football Awards Moment of the Year: 2023[62]
- Cavalry FC Most Assists: 2025[63]
- Cavalry FC Most Goals and Assists: 2025[63]
Records