Alusine Bakish Fofanah (born 21 November 1997) is a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as an attacking midfielder for

Mt Druitt Town Rangers The Mount Druitt Town Rangers, or Mt Druitt Rangers, are a football (soccer) club from Mt Druitt Blacktown in Western Sydney, Australia. The club was incorporated in 1970. The team currently plays in the New South Wales National Premier Leagues ...

. He is the youngest ever player in the history of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

, making his debut for the Western Sydney Wanderers at just 15 years and 189 days. Born in Sierra Leone, he represented Australia at youth level.

Club career

At the age of 14, Fofanah had a successful trial with

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, scoring six goals in two matches with the under-18 squad. However, due to difficulties with passports and visas he did not join the club. In 2013, he played for

Bankstown Berries The Canterbury Bankstown Football Club is a soccer club based in Bankstown, New South Wales. The club currently plays in the NSW League Two after being relegated from the formerly NPL NSW 2 in 2019.(from 2022 known as NSW League One) Canterbur ...

in the National Premier League's NSW under 18 competition before joining Western Sydney Wanderers' youth set-up. He went on to sign a two-year senior contract with Western Sydney Wanderers in May 2014, and in making his debut at just 15 years and 189 days old, became the youngest player in A-League history. He was described as being "very agile, with quick feet, a high work rate and a desperate desire to succeed" by Wanderers' academy coach Trevor Morgan. Fofanah was part of the squad that won the

2014 Asian Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defen ...

and participated in the

2014 FIFA Club World Cup The 2014 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between ...

in Morocco. He spent two seasons at the Wanderers, making seven appearances in all competitions and was released in June 2016. In 2016, Fofanah joined

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

's NPL squad, followed up by a season with former Victorian champions Heidelberg United in which he played five matches. In 2018, Fofanah joined Rydalmere Lions and even played with them against his former club, Western Sydney Wanderers' NPL side. He scored 3 goals in 19 matches for the club. In May 2019, he joined Parramatta FC for the remainder of the season, scoring 1 goal in 6 matches during his time at the club. In 2020, Fofanah joined South Australian club

Adelaide Blue Eagles The Azzurri Sports Club is home to the Adelaide Blue Eagles (ABE), a soccer club based at the Marden Sports Complex, South Australia. It has formerly been known as Napoli Sports Club, Eastern Districts, Eastern Districts Napoli Sports Club, and ...

. In January 2021, Fofanah join National Premier League NSW club,

. However, he left the club in a mutual agreement in February 2021.

Personal life

Fofanah was born in Sierra Leone and at a young age immigrated with his parents to Australia. He grew up for almost three years with his grandparents. Fofanah started following football at the age of six and has revealed that he was inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2006 World Cup semi-final between Portugal and France.

Honours

Western Sydney Wanderers *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

*
wswanderersfc profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fofanah, Alusine Living people 1997 births Sierra Leonean emigrants to Australia Australian men's soccer players Footballers from Freetown Men's association football midfielders A-League Men players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Heidelberg United FC players Rydalmere Lions FC players Parramatta FC players Adelaide Blue Eagles players Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC players