CAIRO: the Sierra Leone national football team (Leone Stars) will lock horns with their Egyptian counterparts (The Pharaohs) in an African Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifier in Cairo on Sunday, Sept. 5. This will be the first encounter between the two nations in decades, and both sides are gearing for the event. The Sierra Leone national football team has long been unheard of. The closest the country has ever come to winning the African Cup of Nations was when they qualified for the tournament in 1994 and 1996, and in both instances, were eliminated in the first round. In fact, Sierra Leone's highest achievement in football history was when they won the Amilcar Cabral Cup (a football tournament for Zone 2 West African nations) in 1993 and 1995. Since then, the country has not qualified for the African Cup of Nations or won any silverware. This has attracted interest from Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad, and the new government is implementing a comprehensive reform plan that has seen the installation of former Sierra Leone international Christian Cole as the country's new coach. Cole's appointment as coach came only three weeks ago and has left some Sierra Leoneans breathing a sigh of relief. He first served as coach of Leone Stars in 1989 for the Amilcar Cabral sub-regional tournament in Mali, and was also in charge of the team during the qualifiers of the 1992 Nations Cup in Senegal, and the 2002 World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Sudan. As preparation for the match against Egypt, he has summoned a 15-man foreign-based squad, including AC Milan youngster Rodney Strasser; Kei Kamara (Kansas City Wizards); Mohamed Kamara (Partizan Belgrade); Mohamed Bangura (Sweedish Champions AIK Solna); Gibrilla Sankoh (Augsburg Germany); and Albert Jarrett (Lincoln City). The dreams of many Sierra Leoneans rest on these few. Egypt on the other hand is the most successful nation in the history of African football. They were the first to win the African Cup of Nations hosted by Sudan in 1957. They also hosted and won the following tournament in 1959. And since then, Egypt has won the trophy in 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, and 2010. In January 2010, Egypt set a new record for not being defeated in 19 consecutive African Cup of Nations matches. They also won their ninth consecutive match in the African Cup of Nations, beating Ghana in the finals and becoming the first team to win three consecutive ACN titles. These are impeccable records that are yet to be challenged by an African nation. But the Sierra Leone national team will not be deterred by these achievements. Sierra Leoneans have come together as one nation blessed by a new momentum, and are hoping for the best display of their national team in recent times. In fact, sports in Sierra Leone has gained such a momentum that it prompted 30-year old Welsh-man and former Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy to invest in a “Craig Bellamy Foundation Academy” that offers five-year scholarships to young children aged 11 and above the opportunity to reach their true potential through sports. On Sunday, Sierra Leoneans in Egypt will march to the Cairo national stadium with peace and love for their host nation and expect that this match will reignite collaboration between the two countries in sports. Sierra Leone had a record of professional footballers playing in Egypt. From late number one goal keeper Brima Attouga Kamara (El-Mansoura) to Ismael Dyfan (Haras El-Hodood), Chernor Mansaray (Al-Ahly), Amidu Karim (Suez Canal), Mohamed Dabundeh (Ittihad, Alexandria); Abubakarr Jalloh (Ittihad, Alexandria), and former National Captain Abubakar (Tostawo) Kamara (Ismaili and Haras El-Hodood), Sierra Leone has provided Egypt with some of the finest players to ever play for the Egyptian Premier League. On its part, Egypt has extended greater ties with Sierra Leone, providing the country with peace-keeping troops during the country's rebel war, and investing heavily in the Sierra Leonean economy in the aftermath of the war. Diplomatic ties have also been established with an Egyptian appointed to the post of Honorary Consul for Sierra Leone in Egypt. The two African nations are experiencing a peak in their bilateral cooperation, and the football match on Sunday is expected to solidify relations between the two. This match will also be used as a stepping stone for the small Sierra Leonean community in Cairo to introduce themselves to the panoply of Egyptian society and gain recognition for the small African nation. Mohamed A. Berray is the head the Legal Research and Information Services at the American University in Cairo.
