The Sierra Leone national football team represents Sierra Leone in association football and is governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association. It has qualified for Africa Cup of Nations three times.
Contents
History
Sierra Leone's first match was at home on 10 August 1949 against another British colony, Nigeria, and was lost 2–0. In 1954 it played another British colony and British administered U.N trust territory, Gold Coast and Trans-Volta Togoland, and lost 2–0 away. On 22 April 1961, it hosted Nigeria and lost 4–2. On 12 November 1966, it hosted Liberia in its first match against a non-British colony and earned its first draw, 1–1. A week later, it lost 2–0 in Liberia. On 13 January 1971, it played its first match against a non-African team, West Germany's B-team. The match in Sierra Leone was won 1–0 by the Germans. Sierra Leone's first match outside Africa was its first against an Asian nation, China. It lost 4–1 in China on 5 April 1974.
In August 2014, Sierra Leone FA cancelled all association football matches in an effort to stop the spread of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone, a week after Liberian FA did the same. Sierra Leonean players playing outside Sierra Leone, such as Michael Lahoud playing in the United States, were discriminated against, with opposition players refusing to swap shirts, shake hands and allow them to certain places of the stadium because they fear that they could be carrying the disease. The Sierra Leonean national team wasn't allowed to play home games and all players had to be foreign-based.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win
Draw
Loss
Fixture
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea on 24 and 28 September 2026; respectively.
Caps and goals are correct as of 9 June 2026, after the match against Liberia.
Recent call-ups
The following players had been called up in 12 months preceding the above draft.
Records
As of 12 October 2025
Players in bold are still active with Sierra Leone.
Competitive record
Honours
Regional
Amílcar Cabral Cup
Champions (2): 1993, 1995
Runners-up (2): 1984, 1986