Sheriff Awilo Suma (born 12 October 1986) is a Sierra Leonean professional
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 le ...
who plays as a
left winger
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 ...
for
Atlanta SC and the
Sierra Leone national football team
The Sierra Leone national football team represents Sierra Leone in men's international association football and it is governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association. The team's nickname is Leone Stars. The team is affiliated to the West Afr ...
. He was a member of Sierra Leone U-17 team at the
2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. Suma made his senior international debut for Sierra Leone on 3 September 2006 in a
2008 African Nations Cup
The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confede ...
qualifying match against
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
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 p ...
.
Suma is one of the most popular Sierra Leonean footballers and he is known for frequently changing his unusual and colourful
hairstyles
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming ...
.
Football career
Suma was born 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 p ...
, Sierra Leone. Like many African footballers, Suma grew up playing
street football in his neighbourhood.
He fled his country's
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and moved to
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
in 1997. Suma was widely considered the best Sierra Leonean youth footballer while in The Gambia. In 2001, the young Suma was discovered by Sierra Leonean football agent Chernor Musa Jalloh while playing in a local football league in
, Gambia. Jalloh introduced Suma to
Mohamed Kallon
Mohamed Kallon MOR (born 6 October 1979) is a Sierra Leonean football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is widely considered the most famous footballer from Sierra Leone. He made 39 appearances for the Sierra Leone nationa ...
,
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 ...
's most successful footballer. Kallon asked him if he would like to play for
Kallon F.C. in the
Sierra Leone National Premier League
Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpoo ...
. Suma returned to Sierra Leone for the first time in five years in 2002 and sign for top
Sierra Leone National Premier League
Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpoo ...
club
FC Kallon
Football Club Kallon, commonly known as F.C. Kallon, is a football club based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded as Sierra Fisheries, the club is one of the top clubs in the Sierra Leone National Premier League and play their home games at the Nat ...
, which is owned by Mohamed Kallon himself. In his first season in the Sierra Leonean Premier League, Suma was the second top goal-scorer.
After playing in the qualifying rounds, Suma was omitted from the final squad for the
2003 African U-17 Championship in Swaziland, something he describes as the worst moment of his life. In the championship, Sierra Leone placed second, behind Cameroon, thereby qualifying for the
2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland.
Fortunately for Suma, he was called back to the squad for the U-17 world championship in Finland. While the team failed to advance past the group stage of the tournament, the coach commended Suma for his energy and flair with the ball. Following this event, 12 of the 23 players failed to return to Sierra Leone and some later applied for
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
. Among those who ''did'' return home was Suma.
Shortly after the U-17 world championship, talent scout Chernor Musa Jalloh helped Suma move to the Swedish team
Åtvidaberg
Åtvidaberg is a locality and the seat of Åtvidaberg Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010.
History
Copper was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name o ...
on a two-year contract from Kallon F.C.. In December 2006, Suma was traded to
GAIS, one of Sweden's oldest teams.
Suma was loaned to
FK Haugesund
Fotballklubben Haugesund (English: ''Football Club Haugesund''), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional Norwegian football club from the city of Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway. The club currently plays in the Norwegian Elites ...
in the summer of 2008 for the rest of the season.
In December 2012 Suma was released from his contract with
Ravan Baku
Ravan Baku FK ( az, Rəvan Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club, based in Baku, that plays in the Azerbaijan First Division.
History
The club was founded in 2009. In May 2011, team secured their promotion to Azerbaijan Premier League ...
.
In June 2014 Suma joined
Syrianska Kerburan with fellow Sierra Leone International
Samuel Barlay, signing a new one-year contract with Syrianska Kerburan in December 2014.
In July 2015, Suma's proposed move to
Kvik Halden FK
Kvik Halden FK is a Norwegian football club, founded on 19 June 1906.
The club plays in the 2. divisjon after their promotion from the 2018 3. divisjon. In 2010 they contested a playoff to win promotion, and succeeded by beating Eik-Tønsberg 5 ...
fell through, before later in the same month he re-signed for
Azerbaijan Premier League
The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...
side
Ravan Baku FK
Ravan Baku FK ( az, Rəvan Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club, based in Baku, that plays in the Azerbaijan First Division.
History
The club was founded in 2009. In May 2011, team secured their promotion to Azerbaijan Premier League ...
.
Career statistics
References
External links
Profile at goal.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suma, Sheriff
1986 births
Living people
Susu people
Sportspeople from Freetown
Association football midfielders
Sierra Leonean footballers
GAIS players
Åtvidabergs FF players
FK Haugesund players
Ermis Aradippou FC players
Kocaelispor footballers
Jönköpings Södra IF players
Syrianska IF Kerburan players
Ravan Baku FC players
Expatriate footballers in Norway
Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
Sierra Leonean expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in the Gambia
Sierra Leonean Muslims
Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Norway
Sierra Leone international footballers
Sierra Leonean people of Guinean descent
Allsvenskan players
Superettan players
Norwegian First Division players
Cypriot First Division players
TFF First League players
Azerbaijan Premier League players
Atlanta Silverbacks players
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in the United States
National Premier Soccer League players
National Independent Soccer Association players