Sierra Leonean international and PAS Lamia midfielder John Bankole Kamara has been voted the sierraleonefootball.com player of the year 2014 by viewers of the website.
The announcement which was made by the Deputy Sports Minister, Al Sankoh Conteh in a well attended ceremony on Tuesday at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ) headquarter, Campbell Street saw the Greece based midfielder become the first midfielder to scoop the yearly award.
Like the previous two awards which were won by striker Kei Kamara and defender Umaru Bangura, Bankole Kamara pulled the highest number of vote to scoop the award despite the fact that he was up against four other shortlisted players in Sweden based pair Alhaji and Alhassan Crespo Kamara, David Simbo in Sudan and former winner Umaru Bangura.
The announcement which was made by the Deputy Sports Minister, Al Sankoh Conteh in a well attended ceremony on Tuesday at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ) headquarter, Campbell Street saw the Greece based midfielder become the first midfielder to scoop the yearly award.
Like the previous two awards which were won by striker Kei Kamara and defender Umaru Bangura, Bankole Kamara pulled the highest number of vote to scoop the award despite the fact that he was up against four other shortlisted players in Sweden based pair Alhaji and Alhassan Crespo Kamara, David Simbo in Sudan and former winner Umaru Bangura.
According to the editor of sierraleonefootball.com, Mohamed Fajah Barrie, Bankole Kamara pulled 32% of the votes recorded from over 20 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia and America, beating Sweden based striker Alhaji ‘Andriano’ Kamara by just 1% of the vote as the striker pulled 31%.
David Simbo finished in third place with 24% of the votes whilst striker Alhassan Crespo Kamara followed in fourth with 10% and Umaru Zangalay Bangura with just 4% of the votes.
The former Tadamon Sour midfielder joined Greek second tier club, PAS Lamia in 2014 after two years spell with Greece based club, Apollon Smymi. In October 2014 he stopped from training with his club Lamia, on advice from the Greek health ministry, following fears over the Ebola virus that had ravaged his homeland Sierra Leone but after several intervention from football governing bodies; FIFA and UEFA he was then allowed to join the team and on his return he displayed the slogan written in his t-shirt which he had worn under his uniform saying "We are west Africans not a virus", an action which saw him disciplined by the Greek football authorities.
Kamara started playing for the Sierra Leone national team in 2013 and has appeared in both FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.
David Simbo finished in third place with 24% of the votes whilst striker Alhassan Crespo Kamara followed in fourth with 10% and Umaru Zangalay Bangura with just 4% of the votes.
The former Tadamon Sour midfielder joined Greek second tier club, PAS Lamia in 2014 after two years spell with Greece based club, Apollon Smymi. In October 2014 he stopped from training with his club Lamia, on advice from the Greek health ministry, following fears over the Ebola virus that had ravaged his homeland Sierra Leone but after several intervention from football governing bodies; FIFA and UEFA he was then allowed to join the team and on his return he displayed the slogan written in his t-shirt which he had worn under his uniform saying "We are west Africans not a virus", an action which saw him disciplined by the Greek football authorities.
Kamara started playing for the Sierra Leone national team in 2013 and has appeared in both FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.
By: Sahr Morris Jr.
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