Alusine Fofanah (soccer)

Alusine Bakish Fofanah is a Sierra Leone born Australian football (soccer) player who plays as an attacking midfielder. He is the youngest ever player in the history of the A-League, making his debut for the Western Sydney Wanderers at just 15 years and 189 days.

Alusine Fofanah
Personal information
Full name Alusine Bakish Fofanah
Date of birth (1997-11-21) 21 November 1997
Place of birth Freetown, Sierra Leone
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Adelaide Blue Eagles
Youth career
2013 Bankstown Berries
2013–2016 Western Sydney Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Western Sydney Wanderers 5 (0)
2016 Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 7 (2)
2017 Sydney FC NPL 5 (1)
2017 Heidelberg United 5 (0)
2018–2019 Rydalmere Lions 19 (3)
2019 Parramatta FC 6 (1)
2020– Adelaide Blue Eagles 1 (0)
National team‡
2015 Australia U-20 8 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 October 2015

Club career

At the age of 14, Fofanah had a successful trial with Manchester City, 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.[1]

In 2013, he played for Bankstown Berries in the National Premier League's NSW under 18 competition before joining Western Sydney Wanderers' youth set-up.[2] He went on to sign a two-year senior contract with Western Sydney Wanderers in May 2014,[3] and in making his debut at just 15 years and 189 days old, became the youngest player in A-League history.[4] 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.[5] Fofanah was part of the squad that won the 2014 Asian Champions League and participated in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco. He spent two seasons at the Wanderers, making seven appearances in all competitions and was released in June 2016.[6]

In 2016, Fofanah joined Sydney FC's NPL squad, followed up by a season with former Victorian champions Heidelberg United[2] in which he played five matches.[7] In 2018, Fofanah joined Rydalmere Lions and even played with them against his former club, Western Sydney Wanderers' NPL side.[8] He scored 3 goals in 19 matches for the club.[9] In May 2019, he joined Parramatta FC for the remainder of the season,[10] scoring 1 goal in 6 matches during his time at the club.[11] In 2020, Fofanah joined South Australian club Adelaide Blue Eagles.[12][13]

Honours
Western Sydney Wanderers

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.[1]

References
  1. "Alusine Fofanah - A name to remember". Football Federation Australia. 28 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014.
  2. Kulas, Damir (26 April 2017). "Bergers sign ex-Wanderer, Young Socceroo Fofanah". The Corner Flag.
  3. "Alessi and Fofanah to Further Careers in Wanderland". wswanderersfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  4. "Fofanah makes history". A-League. 9 January 2015.
  5. Smithies, Tom (14 January 2014). "Tony Popovic to continue with youth and name Alusine Fofanah for A-League debut". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. "Wanderers Announce Player Departures". Western Sydney Wanderers. 1 June 2016.
  7. "Team Home for Heidelberg United FC". SportsTG. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  8. "NPL Preview: Rydalmere vs Wanderers". Western Sydney Wanderers. 25 June 2018.
  9. "Player statistics for Alusine Fofanah". SportsTG. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. "Former Western Sydney Wanderers attacker Alusine Fofanah has signed with the club for the remainder of the season". Facebook. Parramatta FC. 23 May 2019.
  11. "Team Home for Parramatta FC". SportsTG. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  12. "Men's National Premier League 2020 Preview, presented by Metro Homes SA". Football South Australia. 21 February 2020.
  13. "Team Home for Adelaide Blue Eagles". SportsTG. Retrieved 6 January 2021.

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