Category: Sport News

Tyrese Fornah joins Derby's pre-season ahead of Real Valladolid friendly
by FSL News

Tyrese Fornah joins Derby’s pre-season ahead of Real Valladolid friendly

Sierra Leone International Tyrese Fornah has joined Championship team Derby County for pre-season training in preparation for their friendly match against Real Valladolid.

Tyrese Fornah, 24, is looking to make a good impression on his new boss before the upcoming Championship campaign.

Derby County is set to host Real Valladolid in their final pre-season friendly before the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship campaign next month.

The match will take place at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024, with a kick-off time of 3 pm.

Real Valladolid, who is 82% owned by former Brazil international striker Ronaldo, will be competing in La Liga for the 2024/25 season after finishing second in the Segunda Division last season.

They secured automatic promotion by winning 21 of their 42 league matches and finished just two points behind champions Leganes.

In November 2023, Fornah made his international debut for Sierra Leone in the World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and then went on to start in a 2-0 defeat to Egypt.

Sierra Leone to open AFCON 2025 campaign against Chad
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Sierra Leone to open AFCON 2025 campaign against Chad

Sierra Leone will begin their 2025 Afcon qualifying campaign by playing their first match against Chad at home, followed by a match against Zambia’s Chipolopolo in September for match-day two.

The Leone Stars will compete against Chad and Zambia in the first week of September, between the 2nd and the 10th. They are aiming to qualify for the continental tournament in Morocco next year, which would be their fourth time participating in the tournament.

In 2015, Sierra Leone and Chad played two matches, with Chad winning 1-0 at the Idriss Mahamat Ouya Omnisports Stadium during the FIFA World Cup Africa 1st round 1st Leg and Sierra Leone winning the second leg 2-1 at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Igwuruta in Port Harcourt the same year.

These matches were for the first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary. 2–2 on aggregate. Chad won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round against Egypt.

In each group of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, only the top two teams will qualify for the final tournament. However, in Group B, which includes hosts Morocco, only one other team will be eligible.

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Morocco from December 2025 to January 2026.

Samal Bangura joins Tottenham Hotspur U18 scholars
by FSL News

Samal Bangura joins Tottenham Hotspur U18 scholars

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has officially announced that Samal Bangura a Sierra Leonean native is one of the new academy scholars for the 2024-2025 season.

The club introduced 13 young players who have joined their Under-18s as full-time, first-year scholars.

Stuart Lewis, the Under-18s Coach, expressed excitement about working with the new scholarship intake and called it a proud moment for the players and their families.

He emphasized that becoming a full-time scholar at Tottenham Hotspur is an incredible achievement.

The staff team looks forward to developing the players individually and collectively as they support their scholarship years at the club.

Kei Kamara continues his excellent scoring form with LAFC
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Kei Kamara continues his excellent scoring form with LAFC

Kei Kamara, the second-highest goal scorer in Major League Soccer, has scored three goals in his last four matches for Los Angeles in all competitions.

Another header from Kamara as Los Angeles extended its club-record unbeaten streak to 12 games in all competitions with a 2-1 win over archrivals LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl on Thursday night.

LAFC took the lead in the 40th minute when Kei Kamara scored with a powerful header from a Mateusz Bogusz corner kick, making the score 1-0.

Dénis Athanase Bouanga scored their second goal in the 44th minute before LA Galaxy pulled one back in the 56th minute through Gabriel Pec. However, that would be as close as they would get on the night as the Black & Gold locked down defensively on the way to victory.

LAFC won their third consecutive game against the Galaxy and their third consecutive league game.

They are currently at the top of the Western Conference with a record of 13-4-4 and 43 points, three points ahead of the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.

Coach Amidu Karim urges early preps for AFCON qualifiers
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Coach Amidu Karim wants early preps for AFCON qualifiers

Sierra Leone’s coach prefers to begin preparations early after Leone Stars were placed in Group G, against holders Ivory Coast, 2012 Champions Zambia, and minnows Chad.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has set a three-month window for the qualification process to Morocco following a draw in Johannesburg on Thursday. The road to Morocco will begin in September and conclude in November 2024. 

Coach Amidu Karim acknowledged the tough race to Morocco as he’ll come up against formidable opponents, including holders Ivory Coast, 2012 Champions Zambia, and Chad, starting in September.

The qualifiers are set to kick off in September 2024 to determine the first 24 nations to compete in Africa’s biggest event, the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in 2025.

He led his Leone Stars team to earn four points from their last two World Cup 2026 qualification matches with a 2-1 victory over Djibouti and a 2-2 draw against Burkina Faso in June.

Coach Karim told Football Sierra Leone, “Our group has no weak teams. All we have to do is start our preparations. I’m optimistic about putting on a good show with the team’s current form and performance.”

Only the top two teams in each group will qualify for the final tournament, except for Group B, which includes hosts Morocco. In this group, only one other team will be eligible.

The Leone Stars did not qualify for the AFCON in Ivory Coast as they finished third in Group A behind Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau.

The 35th AFCON edition is scheduled to take start from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, encompassing the Christmas period.

2025 AFCON qualifiers Match days scheduled:

MD 1 & 2- 2nd- 10th September, 2024.

MD3 & 4- 7-15th October, 2024

MD 5 & 6- 11-19th November, 2024