FREETOWN, 29th October 2026 – Sierra Leone’s U-15 national team, the Young Leone Stars, have booked a place in the Tier-D Semi-Finals at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, after an impressive 3-1 victory over Aruba on Wednesday.
The win is a strong response after the team suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Kosovo on Tuesday, a result that saw them drop into Tier-D – the classification for teams vying for 9th to 16th place.
Sierra Leone is one of 189 countries participating in the first-ever FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival, which is being held from 24th to 30th October 2026 in Baku. The tournament is FIFA’s largest ever youth gathering, featuring an innovative 8v8 format with two 20-minute halves, played on smaller pitches.
Unlike traditional World Cups, no team is eliminated early. After the initial group stage, teams are placed into six performance tiers based on results, and continue to play until the final day. The winner of Tier A will be crowned overall champion.
Road To Redemption
The young Leone Stars, made up of players born in 2011 and 2012, showed character in their early morning clash.
The match against Aruba kicked off at 9:00 AM Azerbaijan time (5:00 AM Sierra Leone time). After conceding against Kosovo the day before, the Sierra Leoneans came out attacking and secured a convincing 3-1 win to keep their campaign alive.
The victory means Sierra Leone have now advanced to the Tier-D Semi-Finals (19th – 16th place classification round).
Next: Zimbabwe Challenge
The journey continues today.
Sierra Leone will face Southern African side Zimbabwe this afternoon at 3:45 PM Azerbaijan time (11:45 AM Sierra Leone time) in the Tier-D Semi-Finals.
Head Coach and SLFA officials in Baku say the boys are motivated and aiming to build on the Aruba win to secure another positive result and push for a higher finish in their tier.
The tournament is being staged at the Hovsan Olympic Sports Complex in Baku, with the tier finals scheduled for Baku Crystal Hall on 30th October. Matches are being broadcast live on FIFA+ and DAZN.
For Sierra Leone, participation alone is a major milestone – giving the country’s young talents rare international exposure against different football cultures at a FIFA level, as part of FIFA’s new youth development drive championed by Arsene Wenger, Chief of Global Football Development.
