Sierra Leone national football team

Sierra Leone
Nickname(s)	Leone Stars
Association	Sierra Leone Football 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
FIFA ranking
Current	122 4 (20 June 2024)
Highest	50 (August 2014)
Lowest	172 (September 2007)
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 men's international association football and it is governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association. The team's nickname is Leone Stars. The team is affiliated to the West African Football Union. The team have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup; however, they have qualified for Africa Cup of Nations thrice. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History

Sierra Leone's first match was at home on 10 August 1949 against another British colony, Nigeria, and was lost 2–0. In 1954 they played another British colony and British administered U.N trust territory, Gold Coast and Trans-Volta Togoland (now Ghana), and lost 2–0 away. On 22 April 1961, they again hosted Nigeria and lost 4–2. On 12 November 1966, they hosted Liberia in their first match against a non-British colony and earned their first draw, 1–1. A week later, they lost 2–0 in Liberia. On 13 January 1971, Sierra Leone played their 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 also their first against an Asian nation, China. They lost 4–1 in China on 5 April 1974.^[4]

Sierra Leone's golden period was during the 1990s, qualifying for both the 1994 and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations. However, they were forced to withdraw from the next two editions due to the Sierra Leone Civil War.

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.^[5] 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 just because they fear that they could be carrying the disease.^[6] The Sierra Leonean national team wasn't allowed to play home games and all players had to be foreign-based.^[7] In October 2015, Sierra Leone suffered a surprise defeat to Chad in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with their home game having to be played in Nigeria. One year later, Sierra Leone very nearly qualified for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, finishing just one point behind Group I winners Ivory Coast.

On 5 October 2018, the Sierra Leone Football Association was suspended by FIFA and the Leone Stars were excluded from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

Recent results and fixtures

Win Draw Loss

2021

12 October Friendly

Gambia

1–2

Sierra Leone

13 November Friendly	Sierra Leone	0–2	Comoros	Sapanca, Turkey
		Report	Ben 34', 89'	Stadium: Sapanca Atatürk Stadyumu

2022

11 January 2021 AFCON	Algeria	0–0	Sierra Leone	Douala, Cameroon
		Report		Stadium: Japoma Stadium Referee: Ahmad Imetehaz Heeralall (Mauritius)

16 January 2021 AFCON	Ivory Coast	2–2	Sierra Leone	Douala, Cameroon
17:00	Haller 25' Pépé 65'	Report	Mu. Kamara 55' A. Kamara 90+3'	Stadium: Japoma Stadium Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (Senegal)

20 January 2021 AFCON	Sierra Leone	0–1	Equatorial Guinea	Limbe, Cameroon
		Report	Ganet 38'	Stadium: Limbe Stadium Referee: Mohamed Marouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)

24 March Friendly	Togo	3–0	Sierra Leone	Antalya, Turkey
	Placca Fessou 50', 55' Fo Doh Laba 87'			Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex

27 March Friendly	Liberia	0–1	Sierra Leone	Antalya, Turkey
		Report	Bakayoko 30'	Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex

29 March Friendly	Congo	1–2	Sierra Leone	Antalya, Turkey
	Mboungou 89'	Report	Cesay 53', 64'	Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex

9 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Nigeria	2–1	Sierra Leone	Abuja, Nigeria
17:00 UTC+1	Iwobi 16' Osimhen 41'	Report	Morsay 11'	Stadium: Moshood Abiola National Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Kalilou Traore (Ivory Coast)

13 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Sierra Leone	2–2	Guinea-Bissau	Conakry, Guinea
16:00 UTC±0	Kargbo 78' Mu. Kamara 87'	Report	Jorginho 49', 52'	Stadium: General Lansana Conté Stadium Referee: Abdulwahid Huraywidah (Libya)

24 September Friendly	South Africa	v	Sierra Leone	Johannesburg, South Africa
				Stadium: FNB Stadium

27 September Friendly	Sierra Leone	v	DR Congo	Rabat, Morocco
				Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium

2023

March 2023 AFCON qualification

Sierra Leone

v

São Tomé and Príncipe

Sierra Leone

March 2023 AFCON qualification

São Tomé and Príncipe

v

Sierra Leone

São Tomé and Príncipe

September 2023 AFCON qualification

Sierra Leone

v

Nigeria

September 2023 AFCON qualification

Guinea-Bissau

v

Sierra Leone

Coaching history

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

Players

Current squad

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.^[8]

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 25)	16	0	Horoya AC
16	1GK	Ibrahim Sesay	(2004-10-18) 18 October 2004 (age 19)	2	0	East End Lions
23	1GK	Donald Kamara	(2002-07-16) 16 July 2002 (age 21)	0	0	East End Lions

2	2DF	Osman Kakay	(1997-08-25) 25 August 1997 (age 26)	16	0	Queens Park Rangers
3	2DF	Kevin Wright	(1995-12-28) 28 December 1995 (age 28)	8	0	Apollon Smyrnis
4	2DF	Alie Sesay	(1994-08-02) 2 August 1994 (age 29)	10	0	PSIS Semarang
5	2DF	Steven Caulker (captain)	(1991-12-29) 29 December 1991 (age 32)	8	0	Gaziantep
17	2DF	Lamin Conteh	(1994-12-15) 15 December 1994 (age 29)	4	0	Johansen
18	2DF	Daniel Francis	(2002-07-10) 10 July 2002 (age 22)	2	0	Rot Weiss Ahlen
20	2DF	Saidu Mansaray	(2001-02-21) 21 February 2001 (age 23)	4	0	Bo Rangers

6	3MF	John Kamara	(1988-05-12) 12 May 1988 (age 36)	25	1	Politehnica Iași
7	3MF	Kwame Quee	(1996-09-07) 7 September 1996 (age 27)	28	3	Hapoel Haifa
8	3MF	Alhassan Koroma	(1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 27)	6	0	Linense
12	3MF	Ibrahim Sillah	(1995-04-04) 4 April 1995 (age 29)	2	0	Kickers Emden
13	3MF	Kallum Cesay	(2002-09-04) 4 September 2002 (age 21)	2	2	Tottenham Hotspur
19	3MF	Mustapha Bundu	(1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27)	11	1	Andorra
21	3MF	Emmanuel Samadia	(2001-04-19) 19 April 2001 (age 23)	5	0	Hapoel Rishon LeZion
22	3MF	Kamil Conteh	(2002-12-26) 26 December 2002 (age 21)	4	0	Watford
24	3MF	Augustus Kargbo	(1999-08-24) 24 August 1999 (age 24)	7	1	Crotone

9	4FW	Amadou Bakayoko	(1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 28)	5	1	Bolton Wanderers
10	4FW	Mohamed Buya Turay	(1995-01-10) 10 January 1995 (age 29)	11	0	Henan Songshan Longmen
11	4FW	Sullay Kaikai	(1995-08-26) 26 August 1995 (age 28)	7	1	Wycombe Wanderers
25	4FW	Jonathan Morsay	(1997-10-05) 5 October 1997 (age 26)	4	1	Panetolikos
26	4FW	Musa Kamara	(1999-08-06) 6 August 1999 (age 24)	9	2	East End Lions

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Sierra Leone squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Unisa Conteh	(1996-05-26) 26 May 1996 (age 28)	2	0	Johansen	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
GK	Bill Hamid	(1990-11-25) 25 November 1990 (age 33)	0	0	D.C. United	v. Togo, 24 March 2022 ^{PRE, WD}
GK	Isaac Caulker	(1994-01-25) 25 January 1994 (age 30)	0	0	Kallon	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
GK	Francis Koroma	(2000-05-15) 15 May 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Mighty Blackpool	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE
GK	Mohamed Kanu	(1988-02-15) 15 February 1988 (age 36)	0	0	Nimba Kwado	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE

DF	David Sesay	(1998-09-18) 18 September 1998 (age 25)	4	0	Wealdstone	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
DF	Alex Bangura	(1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 (age 24)	2	0	Cambuur	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
DF	Yeami Dunia	(1996-12-16) 16 December 1996 (age 27)	29	0	East End Lions	v. Liberia, 27 March 2022
DF	Umaru Bangura	(1987-10-07) 7 October 1987 (age 36)	55	4	Neuchâtel Xamax	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Mustapha Dumbuya	(1987-08-07) 7 August 1987 (age 36)	17	0	Unattached	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE
DF	Abu Bakarr Samura	(1995-08-10) 10 August 1995 (age 28)	2	0	Kallon	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE

MF	Winston Ceesay	(2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Rotonda	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
MF	Demba Kamara	(2003-05-05) 5 May 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Rimini	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
MF	Alusine Koroma	(1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 27)	3	0	San Pedro	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
MF	Samuel Bekoe	(1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Johansen	v. Liberia, 27 March 2022
MF	Medo	(1987-11-16) 16 November 1987 (age 36)	33	2	Unattached	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Rodney Strasser	(1990-03-30) 30 March 1990 (age 34)	18	1	Cattolica	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE
MF	Khalifa Jabbie	(1993-01-20) 20 January 1993 (age 31)	15	2	Al-Mina'a	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE
MF	George Davies	(1996-11-16) 16 November 1996 (age 27)	11	0	St. Pölten	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE
MF	Abu Dumbuya	(1999-01-29) 29 January 1999 (age 25)	8	0	East End Lions	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Saidu Fofanah	(1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 (age 26)	6	1	Kallon	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Prince Barrie	(1997-08-18) 18 August 1997 (age 26)	4	0	Bo Rangers	2021 Africa Cup of Nations

FW	Issa Kallon	(1996-01-03) 3 January 1996 (age 28)	4	0	Shanghai Port	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
FW	Alie Conteh	(2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 21)	2	0	East End Lions	v. Congo, 29 March 2022
FW	Kei Kamara	(1984-09-01) 1 September 1984 (age 39)	39	7	HIFK	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Alhaji Kamara	(1994-04-16) 16 April 1994 (age 30)	12	5	Randers	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Christian Moses	(1993-08-10) 10 August 1993 (age 30)	6	0	IFK Värnamo	2021 Africa Cup of Nations^PRE
FW	Augustine Williams	(1997-08-03) 3 August 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Charleston Battery	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Idris Kanu	(1999-12-05) 5 December 1999 (age 24)	1	0	Peterborough United	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Victor Mansaray	(1997-02-22) 22 February 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Nam Định	training camp, August 2022
Notes ^INJ Player withdrew from the current squad due to injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad / standby ^RET Player had announced retirement from international football. ^SUS Player is serving a suspension. ^PRI Player absent due to private circumstances. ^WD Withdrawn.

Records

As of 29 March 2022^[9]

Players in bold are still active with Sierra Leone.

Most capped players

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Umaru Bangura	55	4	2006–present
2	Ibrahim Bah	45	3	1986–1998
3	Mohamed Kallon	40	8	1995–2012
4	Kei Kamara	39	7	2008–2022
5	Sheriff Suma	37	3	2006–2015
6	Medo Kamara	33	2	2008–present
7	Julius Wobay	32	4	2001–2018
8	Kwame Quee	31	3	2012–present
9	Ibrahim Kargbo	30	1	2000–2013
10	Yeami Dunia	29	0	2012–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Mohamed Kallon	8	40	0.2	1995–2012
2	Kei Kamara	7	39	0.18	2008–2022
3	Lamine Conteh	6	20	0.3	1993–2006
4	Alhaji Kamara	5	12	0.42	2012–present
5	Teteh Bangura	4	12	0.33	2011–2014
	Alhassan Kamara	4	16	0.25	2012–2018
	Abu Kanu	4	16	0.25	1994–2003
	Mustapha Bangura	4	17	0.24	2005–2016
	Julius Wobay	4	31	0.13	2001–2018
	Umaru Bangura	4	55	0.07	2006–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of United Kingdom								Part of United Kingdom
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962	Not affiliated to CAF								Not affiliated to CAF
1966	Not affiliated to CAF								Not affiliated to CAF
1970	Did not enter								Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	0	3
1978									4	1	1	2	8	9
1982									2	0	1	1	3	5
1986									2	0	0	2	0	5
1990	Did not enter								Did not enter
1994	Withdrew								Withdrew
1998	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	0	2
2002									10	2	1	7	6	17
2006									2	0	1	1	1	2
2010									8	3	2	3	5	8
2014									6	2	2	2	10	10
2018									2	1	0	1	2	2
2022									2	1	0	1	2	3
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/22							42	10	8	24	37	66

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
1957	Part of United Kingdom
1959	Part of United Kingdom
1962	Not affiliated to CAF
1963
1965
1968	Did not enter
1970	Withdrew
1972	Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify
1976	Did not enter
1978	Did not qualify
1980	Did not enter
1982	Did not qualify
1984	Did not qualify
1986	Withdrew
1988	Did not qualify
1990	Withdrew
1992	Did not qualify
1994	Round 1	10th	2	0	1	1	0	4	Squad
1996	Round 1	13th	3	1	0	2	2	7	Squad
1998	Withdrew
2000	Disqualified due to civil war
2002	Did not qualify
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019	Disqualified due to FIFA suspension
2021	Group stage	18th	3	0	2	1	2	3	Squad
2023	To be determined
2025	To be determined
Total	First round	3/33	8	1	3	4	4	14	−

Coaching staff

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

References

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
^ Courtney, Barrie (15 August 2006). "Sierra Leone – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
^ "Sierra Leone – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
^ "Sierra Leone suspends football matches as Ebola virus spreads". The Independent. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
^ "Ebola affecting Sierra Leone team – Michael Lahoud". BBC Sport. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
^ "The land where football is religion". FIFATV. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 – via YouTube.
^ "SIERRA LEONE SQUAD VS. NIGERIA AND GUINEA-BISSAU". Sierra Leone Football Association. 18 May 2022 – via Facebook.
^ "Sierra Leone". National Football Teams.

Sources

External links

Football Sierra Leone official site
Sierra Leone Football Association
Sierra Leone at FIFA.com
Sierra Leone at National-Football-Teams.com

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.

[2] Courtney, Barrie (15 August 2006). "Sierra Leone – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 4 November 2010.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-3] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.

[4] "Sierra Leone – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2018.

[5] "Sierra Leone suspends football matches as Ebola virus spreads". The Independent. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

[6] "Ebola affecting Sierra Leone team – Michael Lahoud". BBC Sport. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

[7] "The land where football is religion". FIFATV. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 – via YouTube.

[8] "SIERRA LEONE SQUAD VS. NIGERIA AND GUINEA-BISSAU". Sierra Leone Football Association. 18 May 2022 – via Facebook.

[9] "Sierra Leone". National Football Teams.

[1]

[2]

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[9]

v t e National and regional football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA Football in Africa portal