Alhassan "Al" Bangura (born 24 January 1988) is a Sierra Leonean former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Bangura played for the
Sierra Leone national team and is notable for having been the victim of
human trafficking when he was a teenager and also the subject of a
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
case in the United Kingdom in 2007.
Early life
Bangura was born and brought up in
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, and his father was the head of the
Poro
The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a men's secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mane people. It is sometimes referred to as a hunting society and only males are admitted to its ranks. The femal ...
Secret Society, however he died when Alhassan was a young child. As he was the oldest in his family, custom dictated that he took over his father's place in Poro, when he grew up. He refused to do so, and instead fled to
Guinea aged just 15 years-old, saying later, ''"I didn't like it at all so I fled to Guinea"''. However, in Guinea he met a Frenchman, who he did not realise was involved in
human trafficking and who took Bangura to France intending to make him a
male prostitute
Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...
. When the man took Bangura to the UK, he intended again to use him as a prostitute, however Bangura sought
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
.
Playing career
Club
Discovered by a Watford scout playing for Chertsey Town Youth in 2004, Bangura joined ''the Hornets'' youth set-up,
and made his debut in a 1–0 win over
Stoke City at the
Britannia Stadium
The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
in April 2005, coming on for the injured
Gavin Mahon after 30 minutes. Bangura started the following game against
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, on the final day of the
2004–05 season. In the
2005–06 season he was a regular in the Watford side, making 40 appearances in all competitions. His first goal for ''the Hornets'', was a 90th-minute equaliser in a 2–2 draw against
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
at
Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200.
History
It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...
in March 2006.
At the end of the season he won the club's Young
Player of the year award
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is h ...
.
At the end of the 2005–06
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
season Watford were promoted to the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
and Bangura was rewarded with a contract extension taking him through to the end of the
2008–09 season. The
2006–07 season saw Bangura make his Premier League debut as a 75th-minute substitute in a 1–2 home defeat to
Manchester United. He made a total of 20 appearances, 16 of which were in the Premier League as Watford finished bottom of the table in 20th place and were relegated back to the Championship.
He signed a new three-year contract with Watford in May 2007,
but only made 10 appearances in the
2007–08 season. In the
following season he made five appearances, before going out on
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
for the remainder of the season to
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in March 2009.
He made his debut for ''the Seagulls'' four days after signing in a 2–1 defeat to
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
at
Brisbane Road. He made a total of six appearances for Brighton.
At the end of the season he returned to Watford, but left the club by mutual consent.
He was subsequently signed in August by
Blackpool on a non-contract basis,
and later the same day was an unused substitute in a 0–0 home draw with
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
.
He made his debut in August, in ''the Seasiders''
' 4–1 victory over
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
side
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
in the second round of the
2009–10 Football League Cup
The 2009–10 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling brewery, Carling) was the 50th season of the EFL Cup, Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 Association ...
.
His league debut came two days later when he was an 80th-minute substitute in a 3–0 home win over
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
. In September 2009 he signed a one-year contract with an option for a further year with ''the Seasiders''.
After three substitute appearances his first league start came in a 3–0 win at home over
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
in October. He was released at the end of the season.
In 2011, he signed for
Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 t ...
'
Gabala in Azerbaijan.
On 1 July 2011, Bangura signed for
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
on a two-year contract, linking up with his former youth coach at Watford,
Dave Hockaday, who was then manager at Forest Green. He picked up a knee injury later in the month whilst training and was required to undergo surgery which led to him missing the start of Rovers season.
Bangura made his return from injury by featuring in a reserve team game against
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in September 2011 and made his first team debut in a 3–2 home loss against
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
on 17 September 2011. Bangura then suffered another knee injury which led to him having a second operation in just four months to correct it.
On 6 December 2012, Bangura extended his contract with Forest Green for a further two years, keeping him at the club until June 2015. However, in August 2014, he agreed to terminate his contract a year early and left the club.
Following the appointment of former Forest Green Rovers manager
Dave Hockaday as under-21 manager at Coventry City, Al Bangura joined the League One side on a trial basis in February 2015. Bangura impressed new Sky Blues boss
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Sunderland. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a defender.
He began his coaching career with Ip ...
to the extent that he was rewarded with a short-term deal to join the club until the end of the season.
Bangura took time away from football after leaving Coventry City, however he returned to playing in January 2016.
During his time away, he worked with the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
to raise awareness of the growing number of teenage players being tricked into leaving Africa for Europe. In January 2016, Bangura signed for
National League South side
St Albans City. A year later, Bangura joined
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
club
Nuneaton Town
Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football.
In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...
.
Following his spell with the club, Bangura settled in the area but left football, instead going onto work at a care home.
International
Bangura was called up to the
Sierra Leone squad by national manager
Ahmed Kanu in October 2008. However, it was also revealed that he would not be able to play home matches in Sierra Leone, as he has said he feared his life would be in danger in the country he was forced to flee.
He made his ''Leone Stars'' debut on 11 October in a
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
and
2010 African Cup of Nations
The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...
qualifier
In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...
4–1 defeat to
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
at the
Abuja Stadium,
Abuja,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
On 2 November 2009 he was called up for a
friendly against
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
side
Willem II on 14 November,
in aid of the
Ibrahim Kargbo
Ibrahim Obreh Kargbo (born 10 April 1982) is a Sierra Leonean former soccer, football player. He ended his career with a suspension over match-fixing.
Career
Former teams are Old Edwardians F.C., Feyenoord Rotterdam, RWD Molenbeek, Sportin ...
Foundation. Bangura played in the game which ended 1–1.
Personal life
In September 2009 he moved from
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
to live on the
Fylde Coast
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...
.
Asylum case
In early 2007 Bangura was cleared to stay in the UK. However, the
Home Office lodged an appeal on a legal technicality, claiming his status as an
asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
changed when he turned 18 years old. In November 2007, Bangura appeared before an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, with Watford manager
Aidy Boothroyd
Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who is currently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was r ...
speaking on his behalf.
On 11 December 2007 he lost his case to stay in the UK, despite Bangura fearing a return to his homeland, where he could be under threat from the Soko tribe, formerly led by his late father. He launched an immediate appeal against the decision.
The appeal against the decision, was backed by
FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers,
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
MP Claire Ward
Claire Margaret Ward (born 9 May 1972) is a Labour Party politician. She served as the Member of Parliament for Watford from 1997 to 2010, and was a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice from 2009 to 2010.
Early li ...
, Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd,
former
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
David Blunkett
David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...
, and the club's honorary Life President
Elton John.
On 15 December 2007, Watford fans staged a half-time protest during the club's game against
Plymouth Argyle, holding up posters on which Bangura's face appeared under the words ''"He's family"'', with Argyle fans in the 18,000 crowd joining in the protest.
Four days later the Home Office announced that Bangura would be allowed to remain in the UK while he applied for a work permit, a process that would take place in parallel with his appeal against deportation back to Sierra Leone.
Bangura won his appeal to stay in the UK after being awarded a work permit by a six-strong Government panel on 14 January 2008. At a
Press Conference
A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
the following day Bangura said, ''"It's not the end of my career if I went back, It's the end of my life. It's going to make a big difference to my life. And, of course, I can concentrate more on my football now."''.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Club
;Watford
*
Championship play-offs (1):
2005–06
;Blackpool
*
Championship play-offs (1):
2009–10
Individual
* Watford Young Player of the Season:
2005–06
References
External links
*
*
Al Bangura player profileat blackpoolfc.co.uk
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangura, Al
1988 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Freetown
Sierra Leonean footballers
Sierra Leone international footballers
Sierra Leonean expatriate footballers
Association football midfielders
Watford F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Mersin İdman Yurdu footballers
Gabala FC players
Forest Green Rovers F.C. players
Coventry City F.C. players
St Albans City F.C. players
Nuneaton Borough F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Temne people
Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Turkey