Sierra Leone’s national U-20 football team, known as the Shooting Stars, has been drawn into Group C for the 2025 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) alongside defending champions Senegal, Zambia, and Kenya. The tournament, which will run from April 26 to May 18, 2025, will feature 13 countries vying for a chance to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, scheduled for September 27 to October 19, 2025.
The top four teams from the CAF U-20 AFCON will secure World Cup spots, with the two best third-place teams from the three groups also advancing to the quarterfinals. Sierra Leone’s group rivals include Senegal, the reigning WAFU A U-20 champions, as well as Zambia, which has a strong history in U-20 AFCON tournaments, including winning the competition in 2017 when they hosted it. Kenya also made it to the finals of the CECAFA U-20 qualifiers, though they were defeated by Tanzania.
Sierra Leone’s U-20 team is making its debut in the AFCON competition. Despite this, Head Coach Mohamed Lamin is confident about the team’s prospects. A member of the technical team shared that the Head Coach believes the Shooting Stars can qualify from the group stage and ultimately secure a spot in the World Cup. “We have learned from our mistakes during the WAFU A competition,” Mohamed Lamin said. “Losing to Senegal was tough, but no two matches are the same, and we are ready to take our revenge.”
The team has been training for several weeks at the SLFA Academy in Freetown and plans to strengthen the squad with a few foreign-based players. Mohamed Lamin is optimistic that Sierra Leone will finish among the top four teams at the end of the tournament. He also called on the government and football authorities to support the team and help them secure the necessary players for success.
