Gomez Da Rosa begins Sierra Leone’s local-player assessment for 2027 AFCON qualifiers

Sierra Leone head coach Didier Gomez Da Rosa has opened the national team’s training camp at the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Academy as preparations begin for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

The gathering brings together a group of carefully selected home-based players, with the Leone Stars building towards their opening qualifying matches in September against Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea.

Gomez Da Rosa officially launched the camp at the SLFA Academy, where he has begun assessing the local players available to him. The current work is intended to help shape the squad that will compete in the crucial opening stages of qualification.

The Sierra Leone coach is continuing to refine his local selection, with the group being evaluated as part of the wider preparations for the campaign. The assessment will allow him to examine the potential and quality of the players in training before the squad for the qualifying fixtures is finalised.

SLFA vice-president Alie Badara Tarawallie attended the training sessions and addressed the players about the standards expected of them during the camp.

He stressed the importance of discipline and determination, while reminding the group that securing qualification for the competition remains the team’s overriding objective. Tarawallie also made clear that places in the final squad would be awarded solely on merit.

That message places the emphasis on performance during the assessment process, with each player required to demonstrate his value as Sierra Leone prepare for their first qualifying tests.

Gomez Da Rosa has expressed confidence in the potential of the squad he has seen on the pitch. His ongoing evaluation of the home-based players is focused on ensuring that Sierra Leone approach the qualifying campaign in the best possible condition.

The Leone Stars’ first scheduled matches in the campaign will come in September, when they face Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea. The local-player camp represents the first stage of the team’s preparations for those encounters and for the wider challenge of attempting to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

With qualification identified as the priority, the players selected for the final group will be those judged to have earned their places through their performances and commitment during the preparation process.