The late Ishmail Dyfan is expected to be honoured this Sunday September 27th in London by Family and friends with a football tournament.
The tournament will take place at the London Academy, Bermondsey, South East London and will feature teams bearing from Sierra Leone Blackpool, East End Lions and two others.
An open invitation has been extended to all especially Sierra Leoneans both within the United Kingdom and elsewhere, in order to grace this very important tournament.
This will be the first tournament to be organised in honour of the former Leone Stars sensation and according to the organisers, there are plans for the tournament to be organised elsewhere especially in his home country Sierra Leone and in the United States of America, where he was eventually buried.
The late Ishmail Dyfan was among the first crop of Sierra Leonean professional footballers and he started his football career during his primary school days in Kenema in the early 60s.
He started playing as a goal keeper with an impressive record but due to an early injury he lost interest in the game he so cherished.
The late Dyfan’s interest for the game was aroused again when he was persuaded to play street football as a past time. Few years later he found himself in Freetown attending the Saint Anthony Primary School football contest – by then St Anthony was losing by two goals to zero to another school.
The late Ishmail Dyfan after some persuasion succeeded in being fielded by his Games teacher and his presence in the field over turned the table in favour of St Anthony, which eventually won the series. This was how the late Dyfan came back to play active football he so adored. In 1981 the late Ishmail Dyfan signed for African Sports of Abidjan in a two year contact and he was later joined by another Sierra Leonean Brima Mazolla Kamara.
His Presence in the club during that period saw the team reaching the quarter-finals of the African Football confederation cup.
The late Dyfan during that period was spotted by the officials of the Egyptian Club Contractors he again signed another two years. After the expiration of his contract he returned home to continue with Old Edwardians and he was the coach of the team until his death.
The tournament will take place at the London Academy, Bermondsey, South East London and will feature teams bearing from Sierra Leone Blackpool, East End Lions and two others.
An open invitation has been extended to all especially Sierra Leoneans both within the United Kingdom and elsewhere, in order to grace this very important tournament.
This will be the first tournament to be organised in honour of the former Leone Stars sensation and according to the organisers, there are plans for the tournament to be organised elsewhere especially in his home country Sierra Leone and in the United States of America, where he was eventually buried.
The late Ishmail Dyfan was among the first crop of Sierra Leonean professional footballers and he started his football career during his primary school days in Kenema in the early 60s.
He started playing as a goal keeper with an impressive record but due to an early injury he lost interest in the game he so cherished.
The late Dyfan’s interest for the game was aroused again when he was persuaded to play street football as a past time. Few years later he found himself in Freetown attending the Saint Anthony Primary School football contest – by then St Anthony was losing by two goals to zero to another school.
The late Ishmail Dyfan after some persuasion succeeded in being fielded by his Games teacher and his presence in the field over turned the table in favour of St Anthony, which eventually won the series. This was how the late Dyfan came back to play active football he so adored. In 1981 the late Ishmail Dyfan signed for African Sports of Abidjan in a two year contact and he was later joined by another Sierra Leonean Brima Mazolla Kamara.
His Presence in the club during that period saw the team reaching the quarter-finals of the African Football confederation cup.
The late Dyfan during that period was spotted by the officials of the Egyptian Club Contractors he again signed another two years. After the expiration of his contract he returned home to continue with Old Edwardians and he was the coach of the team until his death.