John Keister (born 11 November 1970) is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach and former professional player. Born in England, he represented the
Sierra Leone national team during his career and currently serves as its head coach.
Keister started his career at Sierra Leone side Tigres in 1992 before moving to England in 1993. Since living in England he has played for
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
,
Chester City,
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
,
Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
and
Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...
where he was captain before returning to previous club Margate on a free transfer in September 2009.
Whilst playing for non-league club Margate he gained two international caps for
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 , Sierra ...
. He played in two World Cup qualifying games against Nigeria and Morocco, making him the first player from the club to receive international recognition whilst playing for them.
Keister was player-assistant manager at the club but left in February 2011.
Following a spell at
FC Johansen, he was appointed as manager of the
Sierra Leone national team in 2017. After leaving the post in 2019, he was reappointed in August 2020.
References
External links
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John Keister Interview
1970 births
Living people
English sportspeople of Sierra Leonean descent
People with acquired Sierra Leonean citizenship
Footballers from Manchester
Sierra Leonean footballers
Sierra Leonean football managers
Association football midfielders
Margate F.C. players
Walsall F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Chester City F.C. players
Stevenage F.C. players
Dover Athletic F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
English footballers
Sierra Leone international footballers
Black British sportspeople
English expatriate football managers
English expatriate footballers
English football managers
British expatriate sportspeople in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone national football team managers
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