FREETOWN, September 24, 2024 – Shooting Stars, the National Male U20 Football Team of Sierra Leone laudable form in the 2024 West Africa Football Union (WAFU) A-Zone on-going in Liberia means the team have graduated from participating to competing in international tournaments, thanks for the heroic coaching tactics of Mohamed Lamin Kamara.
Kamara is the former Head coach of Central Parade and Wusum Stars. He currently coaches East End Lions Football Club and has over 30 years of coaching experience. He holds a C, B and A coaching licences and doubles as a CAF and SLFA certified coaches Instructor.
At the moment, he’s busy nurturing the next generation of soccer stars from Sierra Leone as reflected on his latest feat with his country’s national U20 Male team.
In his dispensation as Head coach of the Shooting Stars, the team has for the first time topped their group in an international tournament after playing to a barren draw against Guinea, and respectively beating both their Liberian and Guinea Bissau counterparts 3-1 and 1-0 to advance to this year WAFU A’ Zone Male U20 championship with seven points the highest points earned in the group stage of the seven nation championship.
Grabbing seven points form three games played to top their group (A) ahead of Guinea (5), hosts Liberia (4) and the winless Guinea Bissau as well as their Group-B opponents Senegal (4), The Gambia (2) and Mali that managed only a point from three group games played sets a new record for Shooting Stars as the first ever National Youth team to achieve such feat.
Apart from showing their class after becoming the only team among the seven national U20 Male teams including Senegal, Guinea and the Gambia competing for this year’s WAFU A’ U20 Cup which also serves as the U20 Africa Cup of Nations 2024 Qualifiers.
Additionally, the Sierra Leone U20 side conceded just one goal, the least conceded by a team in the on-going qualifiers, finishing the group stage as with four goals highlighting the influence of their moderate pace-setting coach Mohamed Lamin Kamara whose tactics are paying off for the team.
Undoubtedly, Kamara who also led the U17 to a historic participating in Senegal some three years ago, where he was narrowly eliminated in the post games penalties by the host national in the semi-finals has expressed his readiness to let his coaching heroics continue to fuel the impressive run for the Shooting Stars beyond what was shown in the group stages of the on-going tourney.
Looking ahead, the experienced and ambitious Shooting Stars coach said their plan “is to stick to winning ways and beat the Gambia on Wednesday in the semi-finals then prepare to face either Guinea or Senegal in the grand finals.”
Tejan Fredickson Fatorma, the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Media Officer attached the Shooting Stars while speaking to Awoko Newspaper on Monday evening about the momentum at camp re-echoed coach confirming that: “the camp is lively after the team grabbed their ticket to the semi-finals and both the players and officials are award that they’re just a step closer to winning the first ever WAFU A’ Youth Cup for Sierra Leone as well as qualifying to the next AFCON U20 tournament.”