In Somalia, women defy strict rules to play football Somalia's first female soccer club, the Golden Girls Centre in Mogadishu, aims to kick down taboos and help train women to become professional footballers. The sight of young women playing football is highly unusual in Somalia, due to societal pressures as well as fear of Al-Shabaab. The Al-Qaeda linked Islamist group launches regular attacks in Mogadishu and considers forms of entertainment, such as football, to be evil, worse still if women are involved.