Sierra_Leone_national_football_team

Sierra Leone national football team

Sierra Leone national football team

Association football team representing Sierra Leone

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 three times.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

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 it played another 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 its first against an Asian nation, China. It lost 4–1 in China on 5 April 1974.[3]

In August 2014, Sierra Leone FA cancelled all association football matches in an effort to stop the spread of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone, a week after Liberian FA did the same.[4] 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.[5] The Sierra Leonean national team wasn't allowed to play home games and all players had to be foreign-based.[6]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Sierra Leone national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

22 March 2023 AFCON qualification Sierra Leone  2–2  São Tomé and Príncipe Agadir, Morocco
18:00 UTC±0
  • Bundu 48'
  • Komeh 78'
 Report
Stadium: Adrar Stadium
Referee: Mawabwe Bodjona (Togo)
26 March 2023 AFCON qualification São Tomé and Príncipe  0–2  Sierra Leone Agadir, Morocco
16:00 UTC±0 Report
Stadium: Adrar Stadium
Referee: Jean Philippe Vlei Patrick Tanguy (DR Congo)
18 June 2023 AFCON qualification Sierra Leone  2–3  Nigeria Monrovia, Liberia
16:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
Referee: Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)
11 September 2023 AFCON qualification Guinea-Bissau  2–1  Sierra Leone Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
16:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Estádio 24 de Setembro
Referee: Boubou Traoré (Mali)
17 October Friendly Sierra Leone  2–0  Somalia
Report
15 November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Ethiopia  0–0  Sierra Leone El Jadida, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Stade El Abdi
Attendance: 50
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
19 November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Sierra Leone  0–2  Egypt Paynesville, Liberia
16:00 UTC±0 Report
Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
Attendance: 8,916
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)

2024

6 January Friendly Ivory Coast  5–1  Sierra Leone San Pedro, Ivory Coast
17:00 UTC±0}
Report
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium
Referee: Dedjinnanchi Ahomlanto (Benin)
11 January Friendly Sierra Leone  1–3  Morocco San Pedro, Ivory Coast
15:00 UTC±0
  • Komeh 10'
 Report
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Ivory Coast and Morocco on 6 and 11 January 2024.[7]

Caps and goals are correct as of 6 January 2024, after the match against  Ivory Coast.

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players had been called up in 12 months preceding the above draft.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 19 November 2023[8]
Players in bold are still active with Sierra Leone.

Most appearances

Umaru Bangura is Sierra Leone's most capped player with 55 appearances.
More information Rank, Name ...

Top goalscorers

More information Rank, Name ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Chile 1962 and England 1966 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
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 Korea Japan 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 2 0 1 1 0 2
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/16 44 10 9 25 37 68

Africa Cup of Nations

More information Year, Round ...

Coaching staff

Head coachSierra Leone Amidu Karim
Assistant coach Sierra Leone Francis Koroma
Assistant coachSierra Leone Alhaji Foray
Sport therapistBelgium Joris De Vos
Head of medicalSierra Leone Songor Koedoyoma
Team managerSierra Leone Ibrahim Swarray

References

  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    Courtney, Barrie (15 August 2006). "Sierra Leone – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  3. [3]
    "Sierra Leone – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  4. [4]
    "Sierra Leone suspends football matches as Ebola virus spreads". The Independent. 4 August 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. [5]
    "Ebola affecting Sierra Leone team – Michael Lahoud". BBC Sport. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  6. [6]
    "The land where football is religion". FIFATV. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  7. [7]
    "Final Squad". Facebook. Sierra Leone Football Association.
  8. [8]
    "Sierra Leone". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2021.

Sources

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