Sierra Leone National Team: Leone Stars Football Squad, Records and African Kick Off Times

The Sierra Leone national team is the Leone Stars, governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) and playing home matches at the National Stadium in Freetown. Their Africa Cup of Nations history includes the 1994, 1996 and 2021 finals. The tournament records module tracks their participation in AFCON and World Cup finals. South African readers may know them as the Sierra Leone soccer team. For followers of the Leone Stars across our five countries, the qualifying group, kick off conversions and historical records offer different ways into their football.

For a reader in Lagos, the story starts with us. Sierra Leone's first recorded international, played in Freetown on 10 August 1949, was against Nigeria, and the visitors won by two goals to nil. In my opinion, that match is the right doorway into this team, because the Leone Stars have spent the decades since measuring themselves against the bigger West African names, and every so often getting very close. It is a little like the small provisions shop on a busy Ikeja street, which keeps its customers for years because it knows every one of them by name.

Who Are the Leone Stars, and Who Runs Them?

The Leone Stars are the men's senior side of Sierra Leone, selected and managed under the Sierra Leone Football Association, with the National Stadium in Freetown as their home ground. Their record book opens in 1949 with that defeat by Nigeria. In 1971 they met a non African side for the first time, losing by one goal to nil at home to a West Germany B team. On 5 April 1974 they played their first match outside Africa, a defeat by four goals to one against China.

Those three dates make a useful timeline for a casual fan, because they show a team that started in its own region and only slowly travelled further. So, when you read the results module, it helps to remember that Sierra Leone are a West African side first, with most of their football played against neighbours and regional rivals. Their appearances at the 1994 and 1996 AFCON finals preceded a return at the 2021 edition in Cameroon.

How Do You Read an AFCON Qualifying Group?

The qualifying module identifies the competition and group. Sierra Leone's position in that group should be read alongside the number of fixtures completed. In the table, or log, a victory earns three points and a draw earns one. The squad module supplies the Leone Stars' coach and captain for the relevant selection.

Compare Sierra Leone's points with their matches played before judging the gap to another team. For AFCON qualifying groups, teams level on points are separated first by the applicable head to head criteria, with overall goal difference and goals scored among the later criteria; consult the rules for the edition shown. Read the venue alongside the fixture details.

Sierra Leone Fixtures and Results: What Time Is Kick Off Where You Live?

For each Sierra Leone fixture, read the kick off entries in WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT together; completed matches move into the results record. Freetown and Accra use GMT. For a Leone Stars match starting at 18:00 GMT, Lagos clocks show 19:00 WAT, Johannesburg clocks show 20:00 SAST, and viewers in Nairobi and Kampala tune in at 21:00 EAT.

To follow Sierra Leone from any of our five countries, check the fixture's viewing details for broadcaster coverage, radio commentary or match updates. Coverage can differ between Leone Stars fixtures, so use the listing attached to the individual match. Start with the official SLFA channels and the national broadcasters of Sierra Leone and their opponents for coverage information; follow the results module for score updates.

Who Is in the Sierra Leone Squad?

Read the Sierra Leone squad module by position and club to see how each selection fits together. Its player entries identify the captain and call ups for the relevant international window.

The records module lists Sierra Leone's leading scorers, allowing readers to explore Mohamed Kallon and Kei Kamara alongside other Leone Stars forwards. That gives readers a historical reference when exploring the Leone Stars' attacking selections.

What Have the Leone Stars Won, and Where Have They Played?

Sierra Leone's Africa Cup of Nations history includes the finals in 1994, 1996 and 2021. The tournament records module lists their appearances and finishes. The 2021 tournament in Cameroon ended in the group stage, but it marked a return to the finals after a gap of a quarter of a century. They missed the 2000 edition because of the civil war. Sierra Leone did not participate in the 2019 finals.

In regional football, the Leone Stars won the Amílcar Cabral Cup in 1993 and 1995, having finished runners up in 1984 and 1986. In my opinion, the mid 1990s were their golden spell, with regional titles in 1993 and 1995 and AFCON finals appearances in 1994 and 1996. The tournament records module tracks Sierra Leone's World Cup finals participation. World Cup qualification is separate from AFCON qualification.

Who Holds the Sierra Leone Records?

The records module lists Sierra Leone's caps and scoring leaders, with appearance totals and goals alongside the players' names. Use those entries to compare the contributions of Umaru Bangura, Ibrahim Bah, Kei Kamara and Mohamed Kallon. Sierra Leone beat Niger by five goals to one in both 1976 and 1995, and lost by six goals to nil against Mali in 2007 and against Syria in 2009; the records module identifies the biggest results. Sierra Leone reached 50th in the FIFA ranking in August 2014 and stood 172nd in September 2007; the records module shows their current position and ranking extremes.

Who Are Sierra Leone's Biggest Rivals?

For Sierra Leone, compare opponents through the head to head module and keep the competition filter in view. A friendly and a qualifier provide different contexts for reading the Leone Stars' results.

Nigeria were Sierra Leone's opponents in their first recorded international on 10 August 1949. That Freetown meeting gives Nigerian readers a dated starting point for exploring the teams' subsequent encounters.

Who Coaches the Leone Stars, and How Has the Job Changed?

The head coach of the Leone Stars is appointed by the Sierra Leone Football Association, and the current name, with the coaching staff, is held in the squad module so it stays correct after any change. The job has passed between local coaches and appointments from abroad over the decades, and recent changes have usually followed the end of a qualifying cycle. In my opinion, the coach who does best here is the one who brings the selected Sierra Leone players together quickly, because international windows leave little time to train.

How Did War, Ebola and 2021 Shape Sierra Leone Football?

Sierra Leone's football has been shaped by events far beyond the stadium, from the civil war that cost them a place at the 2000 AFCON to the Ebola epidemic of 2014. In August 2014 the Sierra Leone Football Association cancelled all football matches because of Ebola. Paradoxically, that was also the month the Leone Stars reached their highest FIFA ranking of 50th, so the team stood at its peak in the rankings at the very moment the country put football on hold.

The 2021 qualification reads differently once you know that history. Read the tournament records by edition to distinguish qualification campaigns from finals appearances. The Leone Stars returned to the finals in Cameroon for the 2021 edition, their first since 1996. For a West African reader, that is a little like a family restaurant reopening on the same street after years away, with the old regulars back at their tables. It placed Sierra Leone among the qualifiers again, and the next step is making those appearances routine.

Why Do the Leone Stars Matter in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda?

Sierra Leone matter to our readers as a qualifying rival, a comparison side and a neighbour, depending on where you live. The head to head module lets Nigerian readers compare meetings with Sierra Leone by competition. For Ghanaian readers, the Leone Stars offer another West African team whose regional history can be explored through results and tournament records.

South African readers can compare Sierra Leone with Bafana Bafana through the fixtures, results and FIFA ranking modules. For readers in Kenya and Uganda, the same records provide a way to compare the Leone Stars with the Harambee Stars and Uganda Cranes. Select the relevant opponent in Sierra Leone's head to head module to examine their meetings.

Is It the Sierra Leone Football Team or the Leone Stars?

Both names are correct, and they mean the same side. Readers in Nigeria and Ghana tend to search for the Sierra Leone football team, while readers in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya more often type Sierra Leone national team, and fans in all five countries use Leone Stars. The Sierra Leone football side is another name for that squad. Explore another African side through our national teams hub.