Sunday September 14, 2025
Somali boxer Ramla Ali walks through Mogadishu draped in the national flag after returning home on Sept. 14, 2025, where she was welcomed by government officials and supporters following her international boxing successes. Credit: TRT Afrika
Mogadishu (HOL) — Ramla Said Ahmed Ali, Somalia’s first Olympic boxer and one of the nation’s
most celebrated athletes, returned to Mogadishu on Sunday to a hero’s welcome after cementing her place among the sport’s trailblazers with victories on some of boxing’s biggest stages.
Federal officials, community leaders and crowds of flag-waving fans gathered at Aden Adde International Airport to greet Ali, who has compiled a professional record of 10 wins and two losses since turning pro in 2020. The 35-year-old featherweight made history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as the first boxer ever to represent Somalia and later became the first woman to compete in a sanctioned professional bout in Saudi Arabia, scoring a first-round knockout in Jeddah in August 2022 .
Minister of Family Affairs and Human Rights Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi praised Ali’s achievements, saying she had carried Somalia’s flag “on the global stage” and embodied the resilience of Somali women. Banadir’s deputy governor for social affairs, Abdiaziz Osman Mohamed, added that she had “brought honor to Somali women and the Somali people” and pledged continued support for women in sports.
Speaking to reporters, Ali thanked the Somali people for their support. “I want to help grow boxing inside Somalia and
inspire Somali girls to chase their dreams and become part of sports,” she said.
Ali was born in Mogadishu on Sept. 16, 1989, before her family fled the civil war after her 12-year-old brother was killed by a mortar. They passed through Kenya before resettling in London, where Ali
discovered boxing as a teenager . Initially training in secret, she won England’s national novice title in 2015, followed by the elite national championships in 2016 and the African Zone featherweight title in 2019 .
In 2018, she switched allegiance from England to Somalia and helped establish a boxing federation in Mogadishu. By the Tokyo Olympics, she had already become a symbol of Somali representation in international sport, carrying the nation’s flag alongside runner Ali Idow Hassan at the opening ceremony .
Her professional career has combined landmark victories and setbacks. She rebounded from a knockout loss to Julissa Guzman in 2023 by winning an immediate rematch, before challenging Yamileth Mercado for the WBC super bantamweight title in Phoenix in June 2024, a unanimous decision defeat . On July 11, 2025, she defeated Brazil’s Lila Furtado in New York on the first all-women’s card at Madison Square Garden, streamed globally by Netflix .
Beyond the ring, Ali is the founder of The Sisters Club, a charitable initiative offering boxing and self-defense classes to Muslim women, minorities and survivors of violence. She is a UNICEF ambassador and was named one of
TIME magazine’s Women of the Year in 2023 .Ali’s story has reached far beyond sport.
A feature film about her life,
In the Shadows,
starring BAFTA winner Jasmine Jobson, is currently in production . She has also authored a self-help memoir,
Not Without a Fight, and is a brand ambassador for several international companies.
Her return to Mogadishu has been hailed by Somali officials as a milestone moment for the country’s sporting identity. Many hope her success will inspire the next generation of Somali athletes. particularly young women.