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Sierra Leone Premier League champions, East End Lions FC, endured a sobering night in Tunisia after falling 4-0 to US Monastir in the first leg of their CAF Champions League preliminary round clash.
The heavy defeat leaves the country’s most decorated club with an uphill battle to salvage their continental campaign.
The result came on the same weekend that Bhantal FC, runners-up of the Leone Rock Premier League, suffered a 3-0 home loss to Guinea’s Hafia FC in the CAF Confederation Cup. Both outcomes underline the persistent struggles of Sierra Leonean clubs on the African stage.
The defeats highlight a worrying trend. Since FC Kallon’s 2012 success in eliminating Nigeria’s Ocean Boys to progress from the preliminary round, no club from Sierra Leone has advanced beyond the first hurdle of CAF’s inter-club competitions. Instead, the country’s representatives have endured a string of one-sided losses that expose the gap between domestic football and continental standards.
With the return legs looming, East End Lions and Bhantal FC face near-impossible tasks. But beyond the immediate results, the recurring pattern has reignited debate about the future of Sierra Leonean football and the urgent need for transformation.
