Category: Sport News

Egypt wrap-up preparations for U20 AFCON opener against South Africa
by FSL News

Egypt wrap-up preparations for U20 AFCON opener against South Africa

AFCON U20 hosts Egypt finished their preparations for their match against South Africa. The game will take place at 9 PM tomorrow, Sunday, at Cairo Stadium.

This match is the opening of the African Cup of Nations, which Egypt will host from April 27 to May 18. The tournament also serves as a World Cup qualifying event.

The final training session happened at Medina Stadium in Khalifa. During this time, the coach, Captain Osama Nabih, focused on specific strategies for the upcoming match. He urged his players to pay attention to the instructions and avoid distractions.

The players showed seriousness and dedication as they worked to earn a spot in the match lineup. Wadi Al-Harer’s special training was led by goalkeeping coach Captain Ayman Tahir. Captain Nabih also discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the South African team during a lecture before the last training session.

Performance analyst Ahmed Issam prepared a video report that highlighted South Africa’s strong organization and quick transitions from defense to attack.

Egypt’s national team is in the first group along with South Africa, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Tanzania. The top two teams from each of the three groups will move on to the quarter-finals. The best third-place team will also qualify, giving teams finishing in the top four the chance to reach the World Cup.

๐‡๐ž๐š๐ ๐‚๐จ๐š๐œ๐ก ๐Œ๐จ๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ ๐‹๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐Š๐š๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐š: โ€œ๐–๐ž ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒโ€
by Football Sierra Leone

๐‡๐ž๐š๐ ๐‚๐จ๐š๐œ๐ก ๐Œ๐จ๐ก๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ ๐‹๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐Š๐š๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐š: โ€œ๐–๐ž ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒโ€

Ahead of Sierra Leoneโ€™s opening match against Zambia at the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Mohamed Lamin Kamara addressed the media at the Suez Canal Stadium.

Kamara acknowledged the tough competition in Group A but expressed pride in his teamโ€™s spirit and preparation. โ€œ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐”๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ ๐€๐…๐‚๐Ž๐ ๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐žโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ž, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ,โ€

he said. The squad includes 26 playersโ€”17 homegrown and 9 based abroadโ€”whom Kamara described as the best talents Sierra Leone has to offer.

With eyes firmly set on World Cup qualification, Kamara emphasized that reaching the semifinals is the teamโ€™s main goal. โ€œ๐–๐ž ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐›๐ž ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ฒ, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐žโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐œ๐ก,โ€ he added.

Speaking about opponents Zambia, Kamara praised their strength but insisted Sierra Leone is ready for the challenge. โ€œ๐–๐ž ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ข๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐ฒ, ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ž๐š๐ค๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฆ. ๐–๐ž ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ž.โ€

Team captain Momoh I. Kamara reinforced the teamโ€™s focus and fitness, promising a committed performance.

Coach Kamara also thanked the Egyptian Football Association for the excellent facilities and warm hospitality at the Suez Canal Stadium.

SLFA Media Department

Sierra Leone's Ismailia camp bubbles ahead of U20 AFCON opener
by Football Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s Ismailia camp bubbles ahead of U20 AFCON opener

The camp of Sierra Leoneโ€™s Shooting Stars in Ismailia, Egypt, has welcomed the last three foreign-based players: Arsenalโ€™s Osman Kamara, Reading defender Abraham Kanu, and RWDM forward Kevin Bobson Kargbo.

They arrived with National Team Ambassador Christian Duada in preparation for their opening match against Zambia on Sunday, April 27th.

Sierra Leone is filled with fresh optimism and vigor as it aims to qualify for the U20 World Cup in Chile in 2025. The four semi-finalists will secure a spot in the tournament.

This moment is significant for the team, as it marked the first time in history they qualified for this tournament. Head coach Mohamed Lamin Kamara’s squad has demonstrated great resilience throughout their preparations.

Remarkably, the last time a youth team from Sierra Leone flourished on the international stage was during the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship. Sierra Leone’s youth last participated in this tournament, which took place in Finland from August 13 to 30, 2003, with games held in Turku, Lahti, Tampere, and Helsinki.

Ghana share AFCON U20 firendly spoils with Kenya in Cairo
by FSL News

Ghana share AFCON U20 friendly spoils with Kenya in Cairo

Ghana’s Black Satellites played a friendly match against Kenya on Wednesday evening in Cairo, which ended in a 2-2 draw. This match was an important step in their preparation for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The game tested both team’s as they get ready for the tournament. Dreams FC striker Abdul Aziz Musibau stood out in the first half by scoring two great goals, demonstrating his sharp instincts and good movements off the ball.

Kenya responded well, with goals from Hassan Beja and Lawrence Ouma leveling the score before halftime. Ghana’s starting lineup featured key players like Emmanuel Mensah, Aziz Issah, Appiah MacCarthy, and Gidios Aseako, who displayed a strong mix of creativity, strength, and tactical skill.

Kenyaโ€™s U-20 Menโ€™s National Team, known as the Rising Stars, is entering the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations with great optimism following a strong qualifying campaign.

Their path to the continental tournament has been characterized by resilience and a desire for success, and the team is eager to showcase their potential on this prominent stage.

With four AFCON titles and a U-20 World Cup win, the Black Satellites are eager to reclaim their top position and qualify for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile. Their campaign will begin on May 2 against DR Congo.

Kenya in Group B, where they face continental heavyweights Nigeria, Tunisia, and Morocco while Ghana in Group C, gearing to face defending champions Senegal, DR Congo, and the Central African Republic.

๐‚๐€๐… ๐๐ซ๐ž-๐“๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐  & ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐š ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐’๐ข๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐š ๐‹๐ž๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐”-๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ
by Football Sierra Leone

CAF holds pre-tourney briefing & Media day with Serra Leone U20

As part of the preparations for the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) held a crucial pre-tournament meeting with the Sierra Leone U-20 national team at the Mercure Hotel in Ismailia, Egypt, where the team is staying.

During the meeting, the CAF General Coordinator provided an overview of the tournament rules, player eligibility criteria, match protocols, and disciplinary actions. The coordinator reminded the team to uphold fair play and professionalism throughout the tournament.

The CAF Safety and Security Officer emphasized the importance of accreditation badges and bibs for safety and access control at match venues and training grounds. The CAF TV representative discussed media rights and filming guidelines, ensuring consistency and the protection of broadcast rights.

Additionally, the Referees Assessor highlighted the need for discipline, respect for officials, and cooperation with referees to ensure fair and smooth matches.

The day concluded with an engaging CAF Media Day, during which the Sierra Leone U-20 team participated in official photoshoots, video shoots, and digital content creation for CAF’s social media and promotional campaigns.

With protocols clearly communicated and media activities successfully completed, the stage is set for an exciting and well-organized tournament. The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Media Team will continue to provide updates, exclusive content, and matchday coverage throughout the competition.

SLFA MEDIA DEPARTMENT

South Africa U20 Amajita arrive in egypt ahead of U20 AFCON
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

South Africa’s Amajita arrive in Egypt ahead of U20 AFCON

The South African U-20 team has arrived in Cairo to participate in the African Cup, set to begin on Sunday in Cairo and Ismailia.

The delegation arrived at Cairo Airport on Thursday morning to compete in the Africa Cup of Under-20, which runs from Sunday until May 18.

Thirteen teams will compete for the title, with the top four qualifying for the World Cup scheduled to take place in Chile between September and October 2025.

Under the guidance of Coach Raymond Madaka, the team is in the first group, and their campaign begins with an opening match against Egypt at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday evening. They will also face Tanzania on April 30 at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia and Sierra Leone on May 6 at the new Suez Stadium. The group stage will conclude for Amajita with a match against Zambia on May 9 at the 30th of June Stadium in Air Defense.

The South African national team, known as “Amajita,” qualifies for the U-20 African Cup for the ninth time in its history. They secured their place by finishing the COSAFA regional qualifiers with three victories: defeating Malawi 5-0, Lesotho 6-0, and the Comoros Islands 2-0 in the group stage. They then advanced to the semi-finals, where they triumphed over Angola 1-0, and secured their spot in the final by outclassing Zambia 2-0.

Sierra Leone U20 depart for debut Cup of Nations in Egypt
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Sierra Leone U20 depart for debut Cup of Nations in Egypt

Sierra Leone’s Africa Cup of Nations squad left for Egypt on Thursday, April 24, 2025, from Freetown, travelling through Guinea to Egypt for the prestigious CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, to make history.

Led by Administrative Head Benjamin Gordon and NSAโ€™s Director of Operations Alie Sesay, the delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo in the early hours of Friday, ready to shine on the continental stage.

Our young lions will kick off their AFCON journey on April 27โ€”Sierra Leoneโ€™s Independence Dayโ€”against Zambia in a match that promises excitement, skill, and a strong national spirit.

This is more than just a team; it represents a movement. A new generation is carrying the dreams of millions, determined to make their mark and proudly fly the green, white, and blue!

Mamadou Wurie Jalloh Brรธndby IFโ€™s U19 team, Defender Alpha Turay FK Dubocica Leskovac, Abraham Kanu Reading League One, Osman Kamara Arsenal U21, Kevin Kargbo Wimbledon U18, Alpha Kabia Minnesota United, Abdul Bangura and Mohamed Bai Kamara from the Latvian club K Metta are named as p[art of foreign-based players in the squad.

Sierra Leone road to Egypt U20 AFCON

Sierra Leone secured their place at the TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON 2025 as the runners-up in the WAFU Zone A Championship.

Under the leadership of captain and star striker Momoh Kamara, the Shooting Stars delivered an impressive performance, defeating Guinea-Bissau, hosts Liberia, and The Gambia on their way to the final.

Although they ultimately lost to Senegal, their overall performance throughout the tournament showcased resilience, attacking flair, and tactical maturity, earning them a well-deserved spot in their first-ever U-20 AFCON.

Senegal set to defend U20 Cup of Nations title in Egypt
by Football Sierra Leone

Senegal set to defend U20 Cup of Nations title in Egypt

Senegal arrived at the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2025, as the defending champions and a team to beat. With a strong reputation for producing elite youth talent, the Lionceaux of Teranga aims to retain their title.

Under coach Serigne Saliou Dia, they blend tactical discipline with attacking flair in pursuit of back-to-back triumphs.

As reigning African U-20 champions, Senegal aims to defend their title at the tournament following their historic 2023 victory in Egypt. Their recent success is built on disciplined structures and a rich talent pipeline.

Senegal secured their place in the tournament by winning the WAFU Zone A Championship for the second consecutive time, defeating Sierra Leone 2-0 in the final.

Senegal, as the reigning champions after winning the 2023 title, had a flawless campaign, winning every match, including a 2-0 final against Gambia. They had previously reached the finals in 2015, 2017, and 2019, but fell short each time.

  • **GROUP ANALYSIS**ย ย 

Senegal is in Group C alongside DR Congo, Ghana, and the Central African Republic. Each of these teams poses a unique challenge, with DR Congo being particularly ambitious and Ghana showing consistent growth in youth football. The Central African Republic is a dark horse, known for their physical and direct style.

Nigeriaโ€™s Flying Eagles Beat Egypt Team in Cairo pre-U20 Afcon friendly
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Nigeriaโ€™s Flying Eagles Beat Egypt in Cairo Pre-U20 Afcon friendly

On Tuesday, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles defeated Egypt’s Young Pharaohs 2-1 in a pre-Cup of Nations friendly match held at the Cairo International Stadium. Goals from Kparobo Arierhi and Precious Benjamin ensured a strong victory for Nigeria’s U20 team in Cairo. (Photo Credit EFA)

Kparobo Arierhi scored Nigeriaโ€™s first goal in the 10th minute, after being assisted by Bidemi Amole. Egypt responded with a goal from Ahmed Kaabaka in the 65th minute. However, Nigeria took the lead again with a penalty goal from Precious Benjamin in the 83rd minute, after Divine Oliseh was fouled in the box.

This victory gives the Flying Eagles a confidence boost as they prepare to face Tunisia in their first match on Thursday. They will also compete against Morocco and Kenya in Group B.

Egypt, the host team in Group A, will play against South Africa on Sunday, followed by matches against Sierra Leone on April 30, Zambia on May 3, and Tanzania on May 9.

Nine foreign-based in Sierra Leone AFCON U20 squad
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Nine foreign-based in Sierra Leone AFCON U20 squad

Defender Alpha Turay, who played a key role in both of Leone Stars’ World Cup qualifying matches against Guinea-Bissau and Egypt, is one of nine foreign players selected for Sierra Leone’s U20 squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Coach Mohamed Lamin Kamara has announced a squad of 26 players, including nine foreign-based as Sierra Leone will begin their AFCON U20 campaign against Zambia on April 27, followed by a match against the hosts, Egypt, on April 30.

ย The team departs for Egypt on Wednesday, April 23 ahead of their first group match on Sunday April 27. Notable players included in the squad are Mamadou Wurie Jalloh, the goalkeeper from Brรธndby IFโ€™s U19 team; Alpha Kabia, a rising midfield talent who recently joined Major League Soccer with Minnesota United FC; and the dynamic midfield duo and strong defenders, Abdul Bangura and Mohamed Bai Kamara, who hail from the Latvian club K Metta.

The biennial African international youth football tournament will take place in Egypt from April 27 to May 18, 2025, with Senegal as the defending champions.

Sierra Leone road to Egypt U20 AFCON

Sierra Leone secured their place at the TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON 2025 as the runners-up in the WAFU Zone A Championship.

Under the leadership of captain and star striker Momoh Kamara, the Shooting Stars delivered an impressive performance, defeating Guinea-Bissau, hosts Liberia, and The Gambia on their way to the final.

Although they ultimately lost to Senegal, their overall performance throughout the tournament showcased resilience, attacking flair, and tactical maturity, earning them a well-deserved spot in their first-ever U-20 AFCON.

See attached full list of Sierra Leone U20 AFCON Squad
See attached full list of Sierra Leone U20 AFCON Squad