By Marcus Bangura
Sierra Leone veteran Mohamed Kallon has been identified, recognized, and named among the most outstanding African Football stars who have left footprints on the global football stage in a list compiled by Bleacher Report’s Hall of Fame 2024. The list c has more than 90 African stars who made a lasting impact in the sport.
Mohamed Kallon is a veteran football player, who captained the national team Leone Stars for years. He was a prolific striker on the global stage, playing for AC Milan, Monaco, and other clubs in Europe, especially, Siera A and Serie B sides in Italy. He also played League 1 in France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, China, India and Lebanon.
At the moment, Mohamed Kallon owns a football club in Sierra Leone, called Kallon FC. He signed and played for his club as a football player and he is the current Manager of FC Kallon. Mohamed Kallon acquired FC Kallon from Sierra Fisheries in 2001 for $ 30,000, sources say.
From this backdrop, it is glaring that Mohamed Kallon is Sierra Leone’s most successful footballer at both local and international levels. Since his emergence in the mid-1990s, Kallon became a magnet of attention with a reservoir of respect among Sierra Leoneans. He has left footprints on the sand of history by playing for major teams in Europe as an electrifying striker.
At the age of 15, Kallon made his senior international debut for Sierra Leone against Congo and scored the winning goal during the African Nations Cup qualifiers. At the age of 16, Kallon eventually made a name for himself by becoming the youngest footballer in history to score an international goal in the African Cup of Nations at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1996. Kallon’s goal became the decisive 2-1 winner against Burkina Faso.
By and large, it is no surprise that Mohamed Kallon has been recognized and listed among the top African football stars who impacted football on the global stage as compiled by Bleacher Report. The report identified about 99 African stars who made a lasting impact in the sport of football. Kallon’s recognition is unfettered for he is a famous personality in Sierra Leone and records have shown that, Kallon made 337 appearances on the global stage and scored 114 goals for various clubs during his heydays. Kallon also made 39 caps for his country as a striker and scored goals.
Between 2001 and 2004, Mohamed Kallon played for AC Millan as a striker competing for spots with Ronaldo, Christian Vieri, Alvaro Recoba, Adriano Nicola Ventola, and Hakan Sukur among others. He left AC Millian and played for Monaco for three years. Before joining AC Millan in 2001, Mohamed Kallon had a stint at Serie B side Genoa for one year and joined Serie A sides- Bologna Cagliari, Reggina, Vicenza. After he left Monaco, Mohamed Kallon played in Greece, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China.
Born in Kenema, on 6th October 1979, Mohamed Kallon started his primary school education in Kenema and continued his education at the St. Edwards Secondary School, Kingtom in Freetown, where he was discovered as a prolific striker
During his early international football career, Mohamed Kallon was nicknamed ‘Small Kallon’ to distinguish him from his two elder brothers, who were also electrifying footballers, playing for Leone Stars
In 1994, Kallon signed for Old Edwardians and played in the Sierra Leone National Premier League at the age of 15, as the youngest player to ever play in the Sierra Leone National Premier League. He scored 15 goals in 24 appearances during the 1994/1995 season for his club. In 1995, Kallon left Old Edwardians and signed for the Lebanese side Tadamon Sour. Kallon left Tadamon Sour in Lebanon and played one season for Spanca in Stockholm, Sweden before signing with AC Millan. At AC Milan between 2001 and 2002, Kallon made 29 Serie A appearances and scored 9 goals for Milan, becoming the team’s second-highest player, following injuries to Ronaldo and Recoba, who were the first two choices by the pecking order. In that year, AC Millan missed the league title, finishing third and reaching the semi-finals of the Champion League. In the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Kallon made 9 appearances and scored 5 Serie A goals and the team narrowly won the league in second place. In the 2002 and 2004 seasons, Kallon tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone after the Serie Match against Udinese on 27th September 2003. He was given eight months banned. After being banned, he struggled to get to the starting 11 due to the return of the Brazilian ace, Adriano, and the emergence of the young Nigerian, Obafemi Martins. Kallon left AC Millan after he signed a four-year contract for Monaco in France before the start of the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Kallon’s performance this season was impressive but fell out with his French Manager Didier Descamps and he was relegated to the bench in March 2005. He was sent on loan to Saudi Club Al-Ittihad on 29th July 2005, where he helped the team to win the AFC Champions League, leading the competition with 6 goals. Kallon played in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship with Al-Ittihad before being recalled to Monaco in 2006. Upon his return to Monaco, Kallon made 12 League 1 appearances during the 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was released. He underwent a trial with Birmingham City in 2007 but failed to qualify due to a work permit in England. He signed a pre-contract with Al-Hilal but the deal collapsed. In January 2008, Kallon signed a six-month contract with AEK Athens in Greece on January 29th and played in the UEFA Cup in the 2007/2008 season round of 32 against Getafe. Kallon was also featured in the Super League Greece playoffs and scored once in his three appearances, and AEK finished second to qualify for the following year’s UEFA Cup. Kallon moved to Al-Shabab in the United Arab Emirates in 2008 but was released due to a serious injury he picked up during an international match. In October 2009, Mohamed Kallon signed for his club, Kallon FC in Freetown. He later joined the Chinese side Shanxi Baogrona Chamba in the Chinese Championship and scored a penalty kick on his debut against Dal;ian Shide. In 2011, Kallon signed for Chirag United Kerala in the I-League.
In his desire to play at the 2012 CAF Confederation Cup, Kallon returned to FC Kallon ahead of the competition and scored a goal that took them to the second round. In 2014, Mohamed Kallon was appointed head coach of Sierra Leone’s Under 17 side, and two years later, he announced his retirement as a football player.
To crown it all, it goes without saying that Mohamed Kallon has contributed immensely to local and global football because he is one of the African longest-serving footballers between 1994 and 2012 for which he desired to be classified among the top African stars who redefined football. He became the youngest player to ever play for Leone stars and he made his senior international debut at the age of 15 in April 1995 against Congo in the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualifiers in Freetown in which he scored the winner. In 1996, at the age of 16, Kallon became the youngest player to score at the African Nations Cup in South Africa. He scored the winning goal in the 2-1 defeat of Burkina Faso. Kallon played four World Cup qualifications for Sierra Leone in 1998, 2002,2006 and 2010. Mohamed Kallon served as the Captain for Leone Stars and scored 114 goals in 337 appearances. Kallon had also served as a player, owner, and Team manager of FC Kallon, which he acquired in 2002 for $30,000. FC Kallon was originally Sierra Fisheries until it was acquired by Mohamed Kallon. FC Kallon Kallon won the Sierra Leone FA Cup and League title in 2006 and qualified for the African Champions League.
