Newly appointed Sierra Leone U23 head coach Amidu Karim has admitted his delight ahead of Zambia doubleheaders this month.

The former Sierra Leone International, who has been assistant to the senior National A team Leone Stars, will be in the dugout against Zambia on the 22 October at the SKD stadium in Liberia.

Sierra Leone will kick start their Total Energies U23 AFCON 2023 Qualifiers against Zambia next Saturday before the reverse fixture in Lusaka 29th of October.

“This is a great opportunity for me as head coach. I must commend the authority for believing in me,” Coach Amidu Karim told FSL News.

On his Opponent

The former FC Kallon coach is fully aware of the threat Zambia will pose to his side when they face each other in the doubleheader later this month.

“No easy game in African football -we know both ties are going to be difficult against a decent Zambian side. I have been following their preparation – they are looking well-prepared.

They selected a good number of foreign-based – likewise us, we called a few, although this is not a FIFA-approved window.

On his Selections

“I followed all the recent International competitions across all levels. I am working with homebased coach Francis Zappa Koroma and U20 coach Ibrahim Sillah. We have selected players based on recent International competitions.

We have already started working on our game plan. We are not going to be an easy pushover.”

Over two legs, the aggregate winner will face either Egypt or Eswatini in the final qualifying round.

The U23 AFCON tournament will serve as a ticket for the U23  Paris 2024 Olympics.

Zambia seeking a third successive U23 AFCON appearance has not been to the Olympics since Seoul in 1988.

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