Author: Alie Bittar @bittar32

Portsmouth Abu Kamara's injury update
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Portsmouth Abu Kamara’s injury update 

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has confirmed striker Abu Kamara, who is on loan from Norwich, was injured on Monday. 

The Sierra Leone native damaged his ankle following a challenge in their 2-0 over Bolton Wanderers. He attempted to play on but had to be replaced by Gavin Whyte moments later.

The on-loan Norwich winger had to be substituted just after the hour mark during Pompey’s top-of-the-table clash with Bolton, which they won 2-0.

The Blues will assess the forward’s injury in greater detail on Tuesday. In the meantime, Blues boss John Mousinho was remaining positive.

John Mousinho told Sky Sports: “He just rolled his ankle. There was a bit of contact there, and he’s rolled his ankle.

‘He can put his wait through it, he’s got an ice bag on it and it’s one of those we’re going to look at tomorrow and see how it settles down but hoepfully he’s fine.’

The win means they maintained their position at the League One summit after scoring late in each half to beat in-form Bolton at Fratton Park.

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Steven Caulker eyes Sierra Leone job after obtaining Uefa license
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Steven Caulker eyes Sierra Leone job after obtaining Uefa license

Sierra Leone defender and ex-England International Steven Caulker has secured his Uefa B coaching Badge with the English FA.

The former Liverpool and Tottenham defender, who was a pivotal player for Sierra Leone during the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, says he will pursue Uefa A next year.

The one-time England defender, who is presently transforming his playing career to coaching, has admitted coaching is the way forward.

“In terms of my aspiration, my ambition is to be a manager. Maybe, one day, to be a Sierra Leone manager. I would love that. I would love the oppurtunity too bring in young Sierra Leaoneans in to play attractive style of football,” Caulker told Football Sierra Leone.

“Next year, I will start my Uefa A – this is something I am working towards. Right now, I kind of going into the transition from playing into management role.”

On his present playing career

“The option in January is a player-manager role. I want to solicit playing football, maybe, for another year or two. I feel my passion is in coaching – player-manager. I’m finding the right path, the right setup and the right ambition.”

The UEFA B Licence is to help coaches understand the demands of the game and how to meet the needs of players as they build a deeper understanding of their various roles and responsibilities within the team.

This course has replaced The FA Level 3 in Coaching Football.

Caulker joined EFL Championship side Wigan Athletic in January on a contract until the end of the season.

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SLFA successfully concludes two two-day CAF Club License
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

SLFA successfully concludes CAF Club License training

Top club administrators in the country took part as the Sierra Leone Football Association, SLFA, in collaboration with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), successfully concluded a two-day (11 & 12) training workshop for Club Licensing Officers.

On Tuesday, the SLFA said the Training-of-Trainers workshop benefited over 50 male and female Premier League club administrators at the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel in Freetown.

The club licensing idea was introduced to navigate the recently launched Club Licensing Online Platform to ease the system of club licensing and stadium inspection across the continent. 

Addressing the trainees, Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi, on behalf of his colleague CAF instructors Hamza Sorouri and Francis Essah Adu, commended the participants for their commitment and passion shown towards the training.

Adu furthered that he and his colleagues were impressed with how fast the participants grasped the concept, “You made the job easy for us,” he noted. 

In his closing remarks, Vice President Harold Nat-Johnson thanked the CAF instructors for their diligent work in successfully introducing the online platform to local men and women Club Licensing Officers. 

He encouraged all participants to stage workshops at their club levels to ensure the knowledge gained filtered down to other football administrators. 

Mr Nat-Johnson seized the opportunity to update the gathering about the rapid progress in the ongoing construction of five artificial turf pitches across the country, including Port Loko Town Field, Bo Coronation Field, Sierra Leone Football Association Academy, and Approved School Playing Field in Freetown. He noted confidently that “By June 2024 all SLFA sanctioned competitions will play on standard pitches across the country.”

Acting General Secretary Mohamed Benson Bawoh, in a brief statement, noted that the training is timely as global football is fast going digital and Sierra Leone has to stay up to speed. He further urged the participants to embrace the platform and always visit it as ‘practice makes perfect.’

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Alpha Conteh happy with Lokomotiv Plovdiv's run of form
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Alpha Conteh happy with Lokomotiv Plovdiv’s run of form

Sierra Leone International Alpha Conteh has admitted he is pleased with his present playing time and run of form in the Bulgarian efbet League.

The attacking midfielder scored his fourth goal of the season in Lokomotiv Plovdiv’s 3-0 hammering of Pirin Blagoevgrad on Monday.

After a goalless first 45 minutes, Conteh’s goal came in the 51st minute when he received a cross from the right to score with an acrobatic beautiful opener.

Lokomotiv Plovdiv went on to score two more goals from D. Babacar and G. Minchev in the 53rd and 63rd, respectively, as they registered their eleventh win of the campaign.

“I am happy – I am grateful for my performances so far. I want to keep the focus on helping the team as much as possible,” Conteh to Football Sierra Leone.  He added, “I was happy to be named Man of the Match in a tough game against Pirin Blagoevgrad.”

Monday’s victory is their fiRst after they suffered a three-straight defeat in all competitions.

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Lokomotiv Plovdiv hammered Pirin Blagoevgrad 3-0 in the Bulgarian League on Monday.
Lokomotiv Plovdiv hammered Pirin Blagoevgrad 3-0 in the Bulgarian League on Monday.
Victor Osimhen named Africa Player of the Year Award
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Victor Osimhen named Africa’s Player of the Year

Napoli and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen has been named as the CAF Men’s Player of the Year for 2023.

Osimhen scored 26 Serie A goals and was crowned the Italian Footballers’ Association Player of the Year for his Napoli performances last season.

The Nigerian International fought off competition from Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi to the title on Monday night. 

He becomes the first Nigerian player to win the award since Arsenal’s Nwankwo Kanu in 1999 and is also the first active Serie A player to be crowned Africa’s Player of the Year since Samuel Eto’o when he was at Inter in 2010. 

Meanwhile, Nigerian Asisat Oshoala extended her record sixth CAF African Women’s Player of the Year Award.

  • Full List of Award Winners:

Player of the Year (Men): Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Napoli)

Player of the Year (Women): Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria, Barcelona)

Interclub Player of the Year (Men): Percy Tau (South Africa, Al Ahly)

Interclub Player of the Year (Women): Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco, AS FAR)

Coach of the Year (Men): Walid Regragui (Morocco)

Coach of the Year (Women): Desiree Ellis (South Africa)

Goalkeeper of the Year (Men): Yassine Bounou (Morocco, Al Hilal)

Goalkeeper of the Year (Women): Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria, Paris FC)

Young Player of the Year (Men): Lamine Camara (Senegal, Metz)

Young Player of the Year (Women): Nesryne El Chad (Morocco, Lille)

National Team of the Year (Men): Morocco

National Team of the Year (Women): Nigeria

Club of the Year (Men): Al Ahly (Egypt)

Club of the Year (Women): Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

Connect with us @football_sierra – on Facebook/ Instagram, Football Sierra Leone, African News and CAF 2023 Awards.

Nigeria’s Oshoala and Osimhen win African footballer of the year awards
Nigeria’s Oshoala and Osimhen win African footballer of the year awards