Sport in Sierra Leone
Encyclopedia
Sports are an important part of Sierra Leone
an society and Football
is the most played sport in the country. Athletics
, basketball
, boxing
and cricket
are also common sports in the country.
Football
is by far the most popular sport in Sierra Leone
. The Sierra Leone national football team
, governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association
, is popularly known as the Leone Stars and represents the country in international football competitions. Though the team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup
, they did participate in the 1994
and 1996 African Cup of Nations
.
The Sierra Leone national basketball team represents Sierra Leone
in international men's basketball
competitions and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Basketball Federation. The squad is mostly home-based, with few foreign-based players.
The Sierra Leone cricket team is the team that represents the country of Sierra Leone
in international cricket
matches. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council
in 2002. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/94.html They made their international debut at the 2004 African Affiliates Championship, where they finished last out of the eight teams. They returned at the
equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region
of the World Cricket League
, where they had a major improvement, this time finishing as runners-up to Mozambique
, and only just missing out on promotion to Division Two.
. Williams, who was born in Sierra Leone in 1981, is an American football
starting safety with the Minnesota Vikings
in the United States
.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
an society and Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
is the most played sport in the country. Athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
are also common sports in the country.
Football in Sierra Leone
Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
is by far the most popular sport in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. The Sierra Leone national football team
Sierra Leone national football team
The Sierra Leone national football team, nicknamed the Leone Stars, is the national team of Sierra Leone and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association...
, governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association
Sierra Leone Football Association
The Sierra Leone Football Association is the governing body of football in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967, and affiliated to FIFA the same year. It is also a member of the Confederation of African Football from 1987. It organizes the national football league and the national team...
, is popularly known as the Leone Stars and represents the country in international football competitions. Though the team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, they did participate in the 1994
1994 African Cup of Nations
-Group B:---------Group C:---------Group D:---------Knockout Stages:-Quarterfinals:-------------Semifinals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:-Scorers:5 goals Rashidi Yekini4 goals Joël Tiéhi...
and 1996 African Cup of Nations
1996 African Cup of Nations
-Group B:---------------------Group C:------------ withdrew, so their three matches were canceled.*vs. , January 16, 1996*vs. , January 19, 1996*vs...
.
Basketball in Sierra Leone
The Sierra Leone national basketball team represents Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
in international men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
competitions and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Basketball Federation. The squad is mostly home-based, with few foreign-based players.
Cricket in Sierra Leone
The Sierra Leone cricket team is the team that represents the country of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
in international cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
in 2002. http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/94.html They made their international debut at the 2004 African Affiliates Championship, where they finished last out of the eight teams. They returned at the
equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region
World Cricket League Africa Region
The World Cricket League Africa Region or Africa World Cricket League is a one-day cricket tournament organised by the African Cricket Association for non-Test national cricket teams in Africa...
of the World Cricket League
World Cricket League
The ICC World Cricket League is a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status, administered by the International Cricket Council. All associate and affiliate members of the ICC are eligible to compete in the league system, which features a promotion...
, where they had a major improvement, this time finishing as runners-up to Mozambique
Mozambique cricket team
The Mozambique cricket team is the team that represents the country of Mozambique in international cricket matches.-History:Mozambique became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2003. Their international debut came the following year, when they played in the African...
, and only just missing out on promotion to Division Two.
Sierra Leoneans abroad
Many Sierra Leonean diaspora are involved in professional sports. One prominent sportsperson is Madieu WilliamsMadieu Williams
Madieu Mohammed Williams is an American football safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
. Williams, who was born in Sierra Leone in 1981, is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
starting safety with the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.