Newly appointed Sierra Leone coach, Leroy Rosenior, has named a 21-man squad to face Togo in Freetown on Sunday in a 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifying match.
The squad for the Group Nine game includes thirteen foreign-based players and includes three new caps Albert Jarrett, Melvin Kamara and Ahmed Deen, who all play in England.
"It′s been a little bit hectic selecting the players, we had 35 players and we′ve cut it down to 20 and I′m expecting one more player from Norway," Rosenior told BBC Sport.
"It′s been fantastic settling down with the players and one thing that has struck me is the high motivation of these players. They desperately want to do well, this is fantastic and if I can channel that in the right direction then we′ve got chance to achieve something. I′m getting to know the players and forming a good relationship with them and I think it′s going to work well."
The big name missing from the list is the Leone Stars captain, Mohamed Kallon, who along with three other players are serving bans imposed on them by the Confederation of African Football.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Habib Sesay and Christian Coker (both Kallon FC)
Defenders: Mustapha Sama (LG-ACB Hanoi, Vietnam), Gibrilla Woobay (Universitatea Gaiova, Romania), Seyney Kargbo (FC Brussels, Belgium), Mohamed Fornah (Cenegal FC), Ibrahim Koroma (Kallon FC), Abu Tommy (Mighty Blackpool), Ahmed Deen (St Albans, England)
Fowards: Julius Conteh and Jamil Kargbo (both Dukaya, Cyprus) Abdul Deen Sesay (Ports Authority), Sheriff Suma (GAIS, Sweden)
06 05 2007
Sierra Leone captain Mohamed Kallon has been banned for the rest of the African Nations Cup qualifying campaign after attempting to attack the referee in March′s qualifier against Togo.
The Confederation of African Football suspended the Monaco striker earlier this week for three games, ruling him out of the remaining matches leading to the next Nations Cup tournament in Ghana in January.
Kallon was penalised for attempting to attack Burkina Faso referee Lassina Pare and kicking the fourth official′s chair after Sierra Leone were beaten 3-1 in Lome on March 24.
Kallon′s brother Kemokai Kallon, Belgian-based midfielder Ibrahim Kargbo and goalkeeper Michael Tommy have been banned for two matches for their part in the attempted attack.
Sierra Leone lie bottom of their Group Nine standings with one point from three matches in the qualifying campaign. They are five points behind group leaders Togo, whom they meet again at home in Freetown on June 2
Kallon, who has been linked with a move from Monaco to the English league next season, was banned for eight months while playing for Inter Milan in 2004 after testing positive for two metabolites of the steroid nandrolone.
03 05 2007
The captain of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Kallon, along with three other Leone Stars players have been suspended by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
Kallon has received a three-match ban for insulting the Burkinabe referee Lassina Pare after Sierra Leone lost 3-1 to Togo in Lome in a 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifier in March.
The ban means the striker, who plays for French club Monaco, will miss all of Sierra Leone′s remaining Nations Cup qualifiers.
Three other players - Kallon′s elder brother Kemokai, Belgium-based Ibrahim Kargbo and Costa Rica-based goalkeeper Michael Tommy - were all banned for two games for the same reason.
Caf letter′s to the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) said that the match commissioner and referee′s report stated: "Mohamed Kallon, Kemokai Kallon and Michael Tommy misbehaved when they physically attacked the referee and in the process kicked the chair of the 4th official."
The SLFA were also fined US$5,000 for the incident.
The general secretary of the SLFA, Alimu Bah, told BBC Sport that he was disappointed by the decision and that it would be appealing to Caf.
Coach of Leone Stars, John Jebbor Sherrington, was not happy either: "The suspension of the players is a big blow to my team and I′m not happy with Caf′s decision."
This is not Kallon′s first suspension from football, he was banned from the game for eight month in 2003 after he was found guilty of using banned drugs.
Sierra Leone are currently bottom of Group Nine in the Nations Cup qualifiers and their remaining games are against the other teams in the group Togo, Mali and Benin.
