Author: Football Sierra Leone

CAF Media & TV rights agreements for CAF Interclub season revealed
by Football Sierra Leone

Media & TV rights agreements for CAF Interclub season revealed

The Confederation African Football (“CAF”) has announced new media rights and TV agreements for the 2024/25 CAF Interclub Competitions in Sub-Saharan Africa following successful bidding for pay-TV and Free to Air rights.

The media rights encompass African football’s prestigious Club competitions: TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2024/25, TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2024/25, CAF Women’s Champions League 2024, and TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup 2025.

CAF has reached agreements with SuperSport International for the PayTV rights (in English) South African Broadcasting Corporation (“SABC”) and Azam Media for the Free to Air (“FTA”) rights.

In a statement, CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, remarked: “The remarkable growth and heightened global competitiveness of football in Africa has garnered substantial interest from major African and international broadcasters in African Football. SuperSport, SABC, and Azam Media have all been active participants in the CAF Media Rights bids.

CAF welcomes all partners to ensure the quality of its competitions and broadcast products. During the 2023/24 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, TV audiences grew over 25% in North Africa, and over 40% in East and Southern Africa for both TV and digital engagement.

Augustus Kargbo scores in Cesena Serie B victory over Mantova
by Football Sierra Leone

Augustus Kargbo scores in Cesena Serie B victory over Mantova

Sierra Leone International Augustus Kargbo recorded his third of the season as Cesena defeated Mantova 4-2 in week seven of the Italian Serie B league at the Orogel Stadium.

But Inform Kargbo was later substituted after he suffered a minor injury in the 53rd minute.

The first half saw Cesena taking a strong lead with goals from Shpendi in the 5th minute, Augustus Kargbo in the 21st minute, and Giuseppe Prestia in the 43rd minute.

Mantova made a comeback in the second half, narrowing the gap with a goal from Redolfi in the 58th minute. However, CESENA secured their victory with a counterattack goal from Romagnoli and Tavsan in the 70th minute.

After the match, Cesena’s coach Michele Mignani commented, “The match went well, and we were good at scoring the first goal by stealing the ball from our opponents. In my opinion, we deserved to score more goals in the first half.”

Mignani also mentioned the opponent’s possession of the ball and their quality play, acknowledging that the match was challenging. He praised his team for executing their game plan and showing a strong desire to win, especially in the first half. However, he expressed concern about Mantova conceding too much in the latter part of the game.

Mantova is expected to face Brescia in the upcoming derby at the Martelli stadium next Sunday.

CESENA-MANTUA 4-2

CESENA (3-4-2-1):  Pisseri; Ciofi, Prestia, Mangraviti; Antonucci, Kargbo (54′ Tavsan); Shpendi (73′ Van Hooijdonk). Subs: Klinsmann, Chiarello, Ceesay, Celia, Berti, Piacentini, Pieraccini. Coach: Mignani.

MANTUA (4-2-3-1):  Festa; Trimboli, Burrai; Mensah (63′ Debenedetti). Subs: Sonzogni, Bani, Wieser, Artioli, Muroni, Cella, De Maio. Coach: Possanzini.

REFEREE:  Daniele Chiffi from Padua (assistants: Ceccon from Lovere and Trasciatti from Foligno; VAR officer: Nasca from Bari)

GOALS:  5′ Shpendi, 21′ Kargbo, 43′ Prestia, 58′ Redolfi, 70′ Tavsan, 84′ Ruocco

NOTE:  Yellow cards: Trimboli, Kargbo, Calò, Mangraviti. Corners: 4-7. Recovery time: 2′ + 6′

Senegal's U20 crowned WAFU A champions after defeating Sierra Leone
by Football Sierra Leone

Senegal’s U20 crowned WAFU A champions after defeating Sierra Leone

In the 2024 WAFU A’ U-20 tournament, Senegal emerged as champions after defeating Sierra Leone 2-0 in the finals. Despite the loss, Sierra Leone’s performance throughout the tournament was remarkable.

Senegal took the lead in the 13th minute with a goal from Cheikh Tidiane Thiam and then doubled their advantage ten minutes later with a stunning long-range goal from Ibrahima Dieng.

Nonetheless, Sierra Leone qualified for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations U-20 tournament for the first time in the country’s history – a significant achievement for Shooting Stars.

This historic milestone is a source of pride for both the team and the nation, as they will be joining champions Senegal in representing WAFU A’ in the 2025 U-20 continental tournament.

Sierra Leone’s skipper Momoh I. Kamara played a pivotal role in their success. He was named player of the tournament – the 19-year-old’s exceptional performance throughout the tournament earned him the joint top scorer award, having scored three goals in four matches.

His outstanding skills and leadership on the field also led to him being decorated as the best player of the tournament.

AS Pikine Ligue 1 challenge excites midfielder Saidu Fofanah
by Football Sierra Leone

AS Pikine Ligue 1 challenge excites midfielder Saidu Fofanah

Saidu Fofanah, one of the top midfielders in the Sierra Leone Premier League, has signed with AS Pikine – Ligue 1 (Senegal) for two seasons and has described his move as an exciting challenge.

He expressed his excitement about joining the Association Sportive de Pikine based in Pikine – their home venue is the Stade Alassane Djigo, with a capacity of 5,000.

Saidu, 27, made his international debut with the Sierra Leone national team in a 1–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Benin on 15 June 2021.

He stated that his decision to move to Senegal was to try a new challenge in his football career and experience a different style of football in one of the best countries in West Africa and the continent.

He expressed his eagerness to compete in a new league outside Sierra Leone and help his new teammates, just as he did with FC Kallon.

“The season will start next month on 19th October, but there will be a four-team tournament starting on Friday. I’m looking forward to showing what I can do on the pitch.”

Saidu was part of the Sierra Leone squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Saidu Fofanah was playing for the Senegalese team in a warm-up friendly.
Saidu Fofanah was playing for the Senegalese team in a warm-up friendly.
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to co-host Africa Nations Championship
by Football Sierra Leone

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to co-host Africa Nations Championship

The Confederation of African Football (“CAF”) has confirmed that Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will co-host the TotalEnergies Africa Nations Championship (“CHAN”).The tournament will take place from 01-28 February 2025.

Senegal is the current CHAN champion, having defeated hosts Algeria two years ago in Algiers. The competition is for players in their country’s domestic leagues.

The qualification process will begin with the first round of qualifiers on the weekends of 25-27 October 2024 and 01-03 November 2024.

The second round of qualifiers will be played on 20-22 December and 27-29 December 2024.

The tournament slots have been allocated as follows: WAFU A, WAFU B, UNAF, UNIFFAC, and COSAFA will each have three qualifying teams.

The CECAFA zone, which includes the three host countries, will receive an additional slot due to their automatic qualification as hosts. This increases the total number of teams qualifying for the final tournament to 19.

Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will participate in the qualifiers and, in addition to their automatic qualification as hosts, the team with the best result in the CECAFA qualifiers will also advance to the final tournament.

Ghana's Richard Ofori in talks to join AmaZulu
by Football Sierra Leone

Ghana’s Richard Ofori in talks to join AmaZulu

Ghana vice-captain Richard Ofori is set to join AmaZulu FC after leaving South African giants Orlando Pirates.

The experienced goalkeeper parted ways with the Pirates at the end of last season after his contract expired. He is now expected to join their Betway Premiership rivals AmaZulu on a short-term deal.

Ofori won four major trophies with the Buccaneers, including three MTN8 titles and the Nedbank Cup during his four-year stint with the club.

He expressed his gratitude and fondness for his time at Orlando Pirates on his official Instagram page, thanking the staff, technical team, medical staff, board members, management, players, and fans for their support.

Ofori, who has 33 caps for Ghana, was the Black Stars’ first-choice keeper at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast.