Umaru Bangura (born 7 October 1987) 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 ...

plays for the Sierra Leone national team. He is a central defender who can also operate in midfield.

Career

Bangura started his senior career with

Hønefoss BK Hønefoss Ballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Hønefoss, founded in 1895. The club was a part of the multi-sports club L/F Hønefoss, which folded in 2008. After 11 years in 1. divisjon, the second tier of Norwegian football, Hønefo ...

in Norway. In January 2011, Bangura moved to

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

club

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 ...

. He made his league debut for the club on 20 March 2011 in a 2–0 away loss to

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag is a Norwegian professional football club founded in 1920, based in the city of Tromsø. They play their home games at Alfheim Stadion. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Tromsø have won the Norwegian Cup twice, in 1986 and 19 ...

. He was subbed on in the 71st minute for Ugonna Anyora. He scored his first league goal for the club on 25 September 2011 in a 1–0 home victory over

Aalesunds FK Aalesunds Fotballklubb, commonly known as Aalesund or AaFK, is a Norwegian football club from the town of Ålesund, that competes in the Eliteserien, the first tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was founded on 25 June 1914. A ...

. His goal came in the 54th minute. During the English 2013 summer

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

, Bangura attracted interest from

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 Foo ...

side

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, but the move failed to materialise. In December 2013 Bangura agreed to move to

FC Dinamo Minsk FC Dinamo Minsk ( be, ФК Дынама Мінск, ''FK Dynama Minsk''; russian: link=no, ФК Динамо Минск) is a professional football club based in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk. It was founded in 1927 as part of the Sovi ...

in the Vysheyshaya Liga. He made his league debut for the club on 30 March 2014 in a 1–0 away victory over

FC Dnepr Mogilev FC Dnepr Mogilev ( be, ФК Дняпро Магілёў, ''FK Dniapro Mahilyow''; russian: ФК Днепр Могилёв) is a Belarusian football team, playing in the city of Mogilev. Their home stadium is Spartak Stadium. History Dnepr Mog ...

. He played all ninety minutes of the match. In August 2016 he signed a three years contract with Swiss club

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

. He made his league debut for the club on 22 August 2016 in a 1–0 home victory over

Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France ...

. He was subbed on for

Armando Sadiku Armando Durim Sadiku (born 27 May 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Cartagena and the Albania national team. Born in Cërrik, Elbasan, Sadiku started his career with a local club Fushë Mbr ...

in the 84th minute. He scored his first league goal for the club on 2 October 2016 in a 5–0 away victory over

FC Wohlen FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

. His goal, scored in the 61st minute, made the score 4–0 to Zürich. On 8 January 2021, it was announced that Bangura had joined

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the ...

club

on a contract until the end of the season, after being released by Zürich.

International career

Bangura is the captain of the Sierra Leone national team. In October 2019, he stated that he was considering quitting the national team after his team was attacked by angry fans, but retracted his decision soon after and represented Sierra Leone at the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's foo ...

, the country's first ever AFCON.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Sierra Leone score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bangura goal''

Honours

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 ...

: Member of the

Order of the Rokel The Order of the Rokel is the second order of Sierra Leone, after the Order of the Republic (Sierra Leone), Order of the Republic. (Access date 28 June 2021) It may be awarded to recognize Sierra Leoneans who have distinguished themselves by making ...

(2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangura, Umaru 1987 births Living people Association football defenders Sierra Leonean footballers Sierra Leone international footballers Mighty Blackpool players Hønefoss BK players FK Haugesund players FC Dinamo Minsk players FC Zürich players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players Swiss Super League players Swiss Challenge League players Temne people Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Norway Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Sierra Leonean expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate footballers in Belarus Expatriate footballers in Switzerland 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players