Ali Sulieman Ibrahim (Tigrinya: ዓሊ ሱሌማን ኢብራሂም; born 12 September 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Egyptian Premier League club Al Masry. Born in Saudi Arabia, he plays for the Eritrea national team. He is the joint all-time top goalscorer of the Eritrean national team with six goals.
Early life Sulieman was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and returned to Eritrea with his family when he was four months old.
Club career Red Sea Domestically Sulieman played for Red Sea of the Eritrean Premier League. He was spotted by the club at age 16 when he was competing in a zonal tournament in Asmara. He joined the club which was competing with at least three others to sign the striker. He was top scorer in the Premier League two times.
Bahir Dar Kenema In July 2021 he joined Ethiopian Premier League club Bahir Dar Kenema on a two-year deal, becoming the second Eritrean player in the league, along with Robel Teklemichael. The player was spotted by the club in Eritrea's matches against Ethiopia in the 2021 CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup held in Bahir Dar. Sulieman made his competitive debut for the club on 27 September 2021 in a 3–0 victory over Adama City in the 2021 Addis Ababa City Cup. He was named Man of the Match for his performance which included his first goal and assist for the club. Three days later he was injured in a victory over Jimma Aba Jifar which saw Bahir Dar reach the final of the tournament. He was expected to miss the final match as he was to be sidelined at least twenty days. During the 2021–22 season he made twenty six league appearances, scoring five goals.
Hawassa City In July 2022 at the conclusion of the season, it was announced that Suleiman had signed for fellow Ethiopian Premier League club Hawassa City. Suleiman was the league's top scorer for the 2023–24 season with twenty goals. He was the league's scoring champion again the following season with nineteen goals. During his time with Hawassa City, the player had unsuccessful trials with a club in Sweden before returning to Ethiopia.
Kahraba Ismailia After back-to-back scoring titles in Ethiopia, Sulieman joined Egyptian Premier League club Kahraba Ismailia on a two-year deal beginning with the 2025–26 season. With the deal, he became the first Eritrean player to sign for a club in Egypt's top division.
Al Masry Sulieman joined Al Masry in August 2026.
International career Sulieman made his senior international debut on 4 September 2019 in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Namibia. He also scored his first goal in the eventual 2–1 defeat. Later that month he was part of Eritrea’s squad for the 2019 CECAFA U-20 Championship. He scored in Group Stage matches against Sudan and Djibouti. He added a brace against Zanzibar in the quarter-finals as part of the 5–0 victory. Eritrea went on to win the bronze medal in the tournament.
In July 2021 he was part of Eritrea's squad that competed at the 2021 CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup. He scored a hat-trick in the nation's opening match against Ethiopia, earning a 3–3 draw. He later scored in a 1–1 rematch draw against Ethiopia in the classification round. His second-half goal forced penalty kicks, during which Sulieman converted as Eritrea eventually won the match. Following the tournament he received the top scorer award with four goals.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBahir Dar Kenema2021–22Ethiopian Premier League265————265Hawassa City2022–23Ethiopian Premier League296??———2962023–24Ethiopian Premier League2920??———29202024–25Ethiopian Premier League3321??———3321Total Hawassa City9147000000009147Kahraba Ismailia2025–26Egyptian Premier League31111065——3816Al Masry2026–27Egyptian Premier League000000——00Career total148631065000015568
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsEritrea201983202010202643Total136
Scores and results list Eritrea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sulieman goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Ali SuliemanNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 4 September 2019 Denden Stadium, Asmara, Eritrea 1–2 1–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification2 13 December 2019 Lugogo Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 2–0 3–0 2019 CECAFA Cup3 3–04 25 March 2026 Meknes Honor Stadium, Meknes, Morocco 2–0 2–0 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification5 31 March 2026 Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba, Eswatini 1–0 2–1 6 2–0
References
External links
Ali Sulieman at Soccer.et