[00:00.16]For years, people living in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu
[00:05.57]wanting to watch the World Cup on television
[00:08.88]have done so at great risk.
[00:12.56]The Islamist militant group al-Shabab
[00:15.80]threatened violence against anyone watching the games.
[00:20.32]The danger was especially high in 2010.
[00:25.96]The militants controlled most of Mogadishu.
[00:30.48]They searched the city for anyone trying to secretly watch the soccer games.
[00:37.00]But the 2018 World Cup has been different.
[00:41.92]So far, there have been no reported attacks on Somalis
[00:46.99]watching the games on TV in public or private.
[00:51.20]People in Mogadishu have been gathering to watch the World Cup
[00:56.64]inside hotels, restaurants, and government centers.
[01:02.76]Somalia's Security Ministry spokesman
[01:05.72]said the change is because of improved security.
[01:10.84]He added that there is a greater willingness of people
[01:14.56]to ignore what he calls the "terrorists' psychological war."
[01:20.92]Al-Shabab believes that sports are un-Islamic and a waste of time.
[01:28.24]Al-Shabab militants killed two people watching a World Cup match
[01:33.14]in a movie theater in 2006.
[01:37.16]In 2010, the militant group bombed two World Cup parties
[01:42.49]in Uganda's capital Kampala, killing more than 70 people.
[01:49.00]But an increase in the number of Somali government soldiers,
[01:53.20]African Union peacekeepers and private guards
[01:57.40]has made Somalis feel safer about enjoying the World Cup in public.
[02:04.60]The threat of attack has not entirely ended.
[02:08.80]In April, at least five people were killed and 10 others injured
[02:14.72]after a bomb exploded during a soccer game in the city of Barawe.
[02:20.96]In the last five years, al-Shabab has bombed or shot up
[02:25.92]more than 20 hotels and restaurants in Mogadishu.
[02:31.32]But it is becoming harder to keep Somalis away from the country's favorite sport.
[02:38.32]High-speed internet and satellite TV
[02:41.60]have become more common in the past few years.
[02:46.36]This permits more people to watch games from the privacy of their homes.
[02:52.00]Khadija Mohamed Diriye is Somalia's minister for youth and sport.
[02:59.24]She believes sports and other forms of entertainment will "distract Somali youth
[03:05.30]from pursuing extremist ideologies and the deadly migration to Europe."
[03:11.56]I'm Jonathan Evans.