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Sierra Leone national football team facts for kids

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Sierra Leone
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Leone stars
Association SLFA
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach John Keister
Captain Steven Caulker
Most caps Umaru Bangura (55)
Top scorer Mohamed Kallon (8)
Home stadium Freetown National Stadium
FIFA code SLE
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 114 Increase 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 50 (August 2014)
Lowest 172 (September 2007)
Elo ranking
Current 115 Decrease 1 (3 March 2019)
Highest 59 (15 January 1996)
Lowest 156 (7 June 2008)
First international
Sierra Leone 0–2 Nigeria 
(Freetown, Sierra Leone; 10 August 1949)
Biggest win
 Sierra Leone 5–1 Niger 
(Freetown, Sierra Leone; 7 March 1976)
 Sierra Leone 5–1 Niger 
(Freetown, Sierra Leone; 3 June 1995)
 Sierra Leone 4–0 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Freetown, Sierra Leone; 22 April 2000)
Biggest defeat
 Mali 6–0 Sierra Leone 
(Bamako, Mali; 17 June 2007)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 3 (first in 1994)
Best result Group stage (1994, 1996, 2021)

The Sierra Leone national football team represents Sierra Leone in association football and is governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association. It has qualified for Africa Cup of Nations thrice.

History

In 1954 it played a British colony and British administered U.N trust territory, Gold Coast and Trans-Volta Togoland, and lost 2–0 away. On 22 April 1961, it hosted Nigeria and lost 4–2. On 12 November 1966, it hosted Liberia in its first match against a non-British colony and earned its first draw, 1–1. A week later, it lost 2–0 in Liberia. On 13 January 1971, it played its first match against a non-African team, West Germany's B-team. The match in Sierra Leone was won 1–0 by the Germans. Sierra Leone's first match outside Africa was their first against an Asian nation, China. They lost 4–1 in China on 5 April 1974.

In August 2014, the Sierra Leone FA cancelled all football matches in an effort to stop the spread of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone, a week after the Liberian FA did the same. Sierra Leonean players playing outside Sierra Leone, such as Michael Lahoud playing in the United States, were discriminated against, with opposition players refusing to swap shirts, shake hands and allow them to certain places of the stadium because they fear that they could be carrying the disease. The Sierra Leonean national team wasn't allowed to play home games and all players had to be foreign-based.

Fixtures

2022

2023

Coaching history

  • West Germany Burkhard Pape (1966–1968)
  • West Germany Klaus Ebbighausen (1976–1978)
  • England Warwick Rimmer (1979)
  • Sierra Leone Christian Cole (1989)
  • Sierra Leone Christian Cole (1991)
  • France Raymond Zarpanelian (1993–1994)
  • Sierra Leone Roger Palmgren (1996)
  • Sierra Leone John Sherington (1996–1997)
  • Sierra Leone Abdulai Sesay (1997–2000)
  • Montenegro Dušan Drašković (2000)
  • Sierra Leone Christian Cole (2001)
  • Brazil José Antonio Nogueira (2003)
  • Sierra Leone John Sherington (2003–2006)
  • Nigeria James Peters (2006–2007)
  • Sierra Leone Mohamed Kanu (2007–2009)
  • Sierra Leone Daniel Koroma (2009–2010)
  • Sierra Leone Christian Cole (2010–2011)
  • Sweden Lars-Olof Mattsson (2011–2013)
  • Northern Ireland Johnathan McKinstry (2013–2014)
  • Sierra Leone Atto Mensah (2014)
  • Sierra Leone John Ajina Sesay (2014–2015)
  • Sierra Leone John Sherington (2015)
  • Ghana Sellas Tetteh (2015–2017)
  • Sierra Leone John Keister (2017–2019)
  • Ghana Sellas Tetteh (2019–2020)
  • Sierra Leone John Keister (2020–)

Players

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau on 9 and 13 June 2022, respectively.

Caps and goals are correct as of 13 June 2022, after the match against  Guinea-Bissau.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Mohamed Kamara (1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 (age 24) 16 0 Guinea Horoya AC
16 1GK Ibrahim Sesay (2004-10-18) 18 October 2004 (age 19) 2 0 Sierra Leone Bo Rangers
23 1GK Donald Kamara (2002-07-16) 16 July 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Sierra Leone East End Lions

2 2DF Osman Kakay (1997-08-25) 25 August 1997 (age 26) 16 0 England Queens Park Rangers
3 2DF Kevin Wright (1995-12-28) 28 December 1995 (age 28) 8 0 Greece Apollon Smyrnis
4 2DF Alie Sesay (1994-08-02) 2 August 1994 (age 29) 10 0 Indonesia PSIS Semarang
5 2DF Steven Caulker (captain) (1991-12-29) 29 December 1991 (age 32) 8 0 Turkey Fatih Karagümrük
17 2DF Lamin Conteh (1994-12-15) 15 December 1994 (age 29) 4 0 Sierra Leone Johansen
18 2DF Daniel Francis (2002-07-10) 10 July 2002 (age 21) 2 0 Free agent
20 2DF Saidu Mansaray (2001-02-21) 21 February 2001 (age 23) 4 0 Sierra Leone Bo Rangers

6 3MF John Kamara (1988-05-12) 12 May 1988 (age 35) 25 1 Romania Politehnica Iași
7 3MF Kwame Quee (1996-09-07) 7 September 1996 (age 27) 28 3 Israel Hapoel Haifa
8 3MF Alhassan Koroma (1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 26) 6 0 Spain Linense
12 3MF Ibrahim Sillah (1995-04-04) 4 April 1995 (age 28) 2 0 Germany Kickers Emden
13 3MF Kallum Cesay (2002-09-04) 4 September 2002 (age 21) 2 2 England Tottenham Hotspur
19 3MF Mustapha Bundu (1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27) 11 1 Andorra Andorra
21 3MF Emmanuel Samadia (2001-04-19) 19 April 2001 (age 22) 5 0 Israel Hapoel Rishon LeZion
22 3MF Kamil Conteh (2002-12-26) 26 December 2002 (age 21) 4 0 England Gateshead
24 3MF Augustus Kargbo (1999-08-24) 24 August 1999 (age 24) 7 1 Italy Crotone

9 4FW Amadou Bakayoko (1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 28) 5 1 England Bolton Wanderers
10 4FW Mohamed Buya Turay (1995-01-10) 10 January 1995 (age 29) 11 0 Sweden Malmö FF
11 4FW Sullay Kaikai (1995-08-26) 26 August 1995 (age 28) 7 1 England Wycombe Wanderers
25 4FW Jonathan Morsay (1997-10-05) 5 October 1997 (age 26) 4 1 Greece Panetolikos
26 4FW Musa Noah Kamara (1999-08-06) 6 August 1999 (age 24) 9 2 Libya Al-Ittihad

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Unisa Conteh (1996-05-26) 26 May 1996 (age 27) 2 0 Sierra Leone Johansen v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
GK Bill Hamid (1990-11-25) 25 November 1990 (age 33) 0 0 United States D.C. United v.  Togo, 24 March 2022 PRE, WD
GK Isaac Caulker (1994-01-25) 25 January 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Sierra Leone Kallon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
GK Francis Koroma (2000-05-15) 15 May 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Sierra Leone Mighty Blackpool 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE
GK Mohamed Kanu (1988-02-15) 15 February 1988 (age 36) 0 0 Liberia Nimba Kwado 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE

DF David Sesay (1998-09-18) 18 September 1998 (age 25) 4 0 England Wealdstone v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
DF Alex Bangura (1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 (age 24) 2 0 Netherlands Cambuur v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
DF Yeami Dunia (1996-12-16) 16 December 1996 (age 27) 29 0 Sierra Leone Bo Rangers v.  Liberia, 27 March 2022
DF Umaru Bangura (1987-10-07) 7 October 1987 (age 36) 55 4 Free agent 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Mustapha Dumbuya (1987-08-07) 7 August 1987 (age 36) 17 0 Retired 2021 Africa Cup of NationsRET
DF Abu Bakarr Samura (1995-08-10) 10 August 1995 (age 28) 2 0 Sierra Leone Bo Rangers 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE

MF Winston Ceesay (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 23) 1 0 Italy Trapani v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
MF Demba Kamara (2003-05-05) 5 May 2003 (age 20) 1 0 San Marino San Marino v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
MF Alusine Koroma (1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 26) 3 0 Spain Linense v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
MF Samuel Bekoe (1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 26) 1 0 Sierra Leone Johansen v.  Liberia, 27 March 2022
MF Medo (1987-11-16) 16 November 1987 (age 36) 33 2 Finland IF Gnistan 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Rodney Strasser (1990-03-30) 30 March 1990 (age 33) 18 1 Italy Cattolica 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE
MF Khalifa Jabbie (1993-01-20) 20 January 1993 (age 31) 15 2 Iraq Al-Mina'a 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE
MF George Davies (1996-11-16) 16 November 1996 (age 27) 11 0 Austria St. Pölten 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE
MF Abu Dumbuya (1999-01-29) 29 January 1999 (age 25) 8 0 Sierra Leone East End Lions 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Saidu Fofanah (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 (age 26) 6 1 Sierra Leone Kallon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Prince Barrie (1997-08-18) 18 August 1997 (age 26) 4 0 Sierra Leone Bo Rangers 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

FW Issa Kallon (1996-01-03) 3 January 1996 (age 28) 4 0 China Shanghai Port v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
FW Alie Conteh (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Sierra Leone East End Lions v.  Congo, 29 March 2022
FW Kei Kamara (1984-09-01) 1 September 1984 (age 39) 39 7 Canada CF Montréal 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Alhaji Kamara (1994-04-16) 16 April 1994 (age 29) 12 5 Denmark Randers 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Christian Moses (1993-08-10) 10 August 1993 (age 30) 6 0 Sweden Örebro SK 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE
FW Augustine Williams (1997-08-03) 3 August 1997 (age 26) 1 0 United States Charleston Battery 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Idris Kanu (1999-12-05) 5 December 1999 (age 24) 1 0 England Barnet 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Victor Mansaray (1997-02-22) 22 February 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Vietnam Nam Định training camp, August 2022

Records

Players in bold are still active with it.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Final Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Chile 1962 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
England 1966
Mexico 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 3
Argentina 1978 4 1 1 2 8 9
Spain 1982 2 0 1 1 3 5
Mexico 1986 2 0 0 2 0 5
Italy 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1994 Withdrew Withdrew
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 2
South KoreaJapan 2002 10 2 1 7 6 17
Germany 2006 2 0 1 1 1 2
South Africa 2010 8 3 2 3 5 8
Brazil 2014 6 2 2 2 10 10
Russia 2018 2 1 0 1 2 2
Qatar 2022 2 1 0 1 2 3
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 42 10 8 24 37 66

Africa Cup of Nations

Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad
Ethiopia 1962 Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968 Did not enter
Sudan 1970 Withdrew
Cameroon 1972 Did not enter
Egypt 1974 Did not qualify
Ethiopia 1976 Did not enter
Ghana 1978 Did not qualify
Nigeria 1980 Did not enter
Libya 1982 Did not qualify
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986 Withdrew
Morocco 1988 Did not qualify
Algeria 1990 Withdrew
Senegal 1992 Did not qualify
Tunisia 1994 Round 1 10th 2 0 1 1 0 4 Squad
South Africa 1996 Round 1 13th 3 1 0 2 2 7 Squad
Burkina Faso 1998 Withdrew
Nigeria Ghana 2000 Disqualified due to civil war
Mali 2002 Did not qualify
Tunisia 2004
Egypt 2006
Ghana 2008
Angola 2010
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012
South Africa 2013
Equatorial Guinea 2015
Gabon 2017
Egypt 2019 Disqualified due to FIFA suspension
Cameroon 2021 Group stage 18th 3 0 2 1 2 3 Squad
Ivory Coast 2023 To be determined
Guinea 2025
Total 8 1 3 4 4 14

Coaching staff

Head coach Sierra Leone John Keister
Assistant coach England Ajet Shehu
Assistant coach Sierra Leone Amidu Karim
Head of medical Sierra Leone Songor Koedoyoma
Sport care therapist Belgium Joris De Vos

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Sierra Leona para niños

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