FREETOWN, 19 October 2026 – The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has confirmed that the Leone Stars’ home fixture against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers will be played in Morocco on Tuesday, 17 November 2026.
In a press release signed by Head of Media and Marketing Ibrahim Kamara and dated Monday 19th October, the SLFA said Morocco was selected as an alternative neutral venue after efforts to host the match closer to home failed.
The Association said it initially explored hosting the match in neighbouring Guinea or Liberia to allow Sierra Leonean fans to attend. However, Guinea could not accommodate the fixture due to a scheduling conflict involving its national Under-23 team, while Liberia also had a fixture scheduled at the Samuel K. Doe Stadium on the same date.
In a further attempt to find a venue closer to Sierra Leone, the SLFA approached the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to request that the match be rescheduled to Monday, 16 November. But DR Congo refused the date change and insisted on playing on the original CAF date of Tuesday, 17 November, in line with the official fixture calendar.
Following these developments, Morocco was selected.
“The SLFA sincerely regrets that the match cannot be hosted closer to home, which would have made it easier for Sierra Leoneans to attend,” the release stated, apologising for any inconvenience and thanking fans for their continued patience and support.
Why Sierra Leone Cannot Play at Home
Sierra Leone has not played a competitive home match in Freetown since 2021, after the Siaka Stevens Stadium was blacklisted by CAF for failing to meet international standards – including poor pitch quality, substandard dressing rooms, inadequate floodlights, lack of a proper media centre and safety concerns.
As a result, Leone Stars have been forced to play their home games in Liberia, Guinea and, more recently, Morocco. In fact, Sierra Leone is one of 12 African countries forced to host home games abroad in this qualifying campaign, including neighbours Guinea, Liberia and Senegal.
The current arrangement in Morocco follows a two-year Memorandum of Understanding signed on 17 August 2026 in Rabat between SLFA President Babadi Kamara and FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa. The MoU covers technical capacity building, referee development, youth football, and gives Sierra Leone access to Moroccan facilities – including use of stadiums for home matches.
Group E Pressure
The DR Congo match is a crucial Group E fixture for Sierra Leone. The Leone Stars are in Group E with DR Congo, Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea.
The road to AFCON 2027 – which will be co-hosted for the first time by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 19 June to 17 July 2027 – started poorly for Sierra Leone. On 24 September in El Jadida, Morocco, the Leone Stars threw away a 2-0 lead against Zimbabwe to lose 2-3, leaving them bottom of the group after Matchday 1.
Leone Stars last qualified for AFCON in 2021 in Cameroon, ending a 25-year absence, but missed the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast and the 2025 edition in Morocco.
Under French coach Mohamed Diamoutene Gomes Da Rosa, appointed in February 2025, Sierra Leone must now get points against DR Congo – one of Africa’s giants and semi-finalists at AFCON 2023 – to keep qualification hopes alive.
The SLFA says it remains committed to ensuring the team gets the support it needs despite the logistical setback.
