Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President Babadi Kamara has expressed deep disappointment with the Leone Stars following their back-to-back defeats in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. The team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea on Monday, following an earlier 3-2 loss to Zimbabwe in their opening Group E qualifier. These results have left Sierra Leone without a point from their first two matches. Kamara addressed the players before they departed to return to their respective clubs.
Kamara criticised the team’s performances and urged the players to take responsibility for their results, stressing that their performances also affect their individual careers. “We are extremely disappointed. It’s not like we came to play with the objective. This is bad,” Kamara said. He questioned the team’s level of commitment and urged the players to approach future international assignments with greater determination.
The SLFA president also highlighted concerns over the team’s communication, teamwork, and inability to convert opportunities into goals. “We have good players. We cannot get the right blame to give results. Maybe there’s an issue. Don’t communicate. Don’t listen to each other. Maybe there’s an issue,” he said. Kamara emphasised the need for improvement in these areas to achieve better results.
Sierra Leone fell behind against Equatorial Guinea after Loren Zúñiga scored in the opening minute. Despite having the remainder of the match to respond, the Leone Stars were unable to find an equaliser. This defeat followed a similar setback against Zimbabwe, where Sierra Leone surrendered a 2-0 lead after goals from Alie Conteh and Sallieu Tarawallie before conceding three second-half goals.
Kamara acknowledged that the qualifying campaign will become increasingly difficult, particularly with Sierra Leone still without a point after two matches. “The next one is going to be more difficult than the two that we played,” he told the players. He urged the squad to learn from the defeats and prepare differently for their upcoming fixtures.
The SLFA president called on the players to remain committed to their careers and to return to their clubs and continue working ahead of the next international window. “Continue to work. Be more interested in what you do. This is not a lousy job,” he said. Kamara also encouraged the players to remain in contact and return safely to their respective destinations.
Sierra Leone are scheduled to face São Tomé and Príncipe in their next two AFCON 2027 qualifying fixtures. The Leone Stars will be looking to secure their first points of the campaign and revive their hopes of progressing from Group E. Kamara ended his address by urging the players to remain focused and work towards achieving better results in the future.
Key points
- Babadi Kamara expressed deep disappointment with the Leone Stars' performance in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.
- The team suffered back-to-back defeats to Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea, leaving them without a point from their first two matches.
- Kamara urged the players to take responsibility for their results, improve their communication and teamwork, and approach future international assignments with greater determination.
