Star Sport Academy

Star Sport Academy walked out for its first continental fixture in September 2026 knowing only a draw would keep the tie alive, and got exactly that: 0-0 away to Medina United of Gambia in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.

Weeks earlier the club had found the ceiling of its ambition in the West Africa Champions Cup, beaten 4-0 by Karfamoriah of Guinea in the group stage.

Set up the project in Freetown in January 2022 as a youth academy under the wing of the Sierra Leone Football Association. Promotion arrived by winning the playoff out of the National First Division, and the club stayed in the top flight's business at the first attempt, finishing the 2025/26 season as runners-up behind champions Bo Rangers.

Head coach Amidu Karim built that campaign, and for the step into Africa the club brought in Slovakian coach Jozef Vukušič as a technical adviser. Ivorian forward Ibrahim Koné joined in August 2026, arriving after countryman Mamadi Kone had already come in during February, part of a squad reshaped for a season that suddenly included matches outside Sierra Leone.

At home, the fixture that matters most is with Bo Rangers, styled locally as the Southern Arena Showdown. Freetown City completes the rivalry picture.