Sallieu Bundu (born January 1, 1984, in

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown () is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational an ...

) nicknamed Teacher, is a

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Early life

Bundu, who is commonly known by his nickname Teacher, grew up in his hometown of

, the second largest city in Sierra Leone. He attended the Independence Memorial High School. At the age of 15, Bundu fled on foot with his mother and siblings to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

to escape the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in his home country; his father was murdered by rebels. After five years of living in Guinea, Bundu's brother won a US immigrant visa in the Green Card Lottery, allowing the family to settle in the United States.

Career

Professional

Bundu settled in

Twinsburg, Ohio Twinsburg is a suburban city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, located midway between Akron and Cleveland. The population was 19,248 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. History The first person to settle Mills ...

, and on April 10, 2008, signed with the

Cleveland City Stars The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009. The club folde ...

after impressing head coach Martin Rennie in a trial. He was a revelation in his first season with the team, netting 8 goals in 19 appearances, and on August 23, 2008, scored the winning goal for Cleveland in the USL Second Division championship game. Sallieu Bundu has walked on the way to sign a contract with

Carolina RailHawks FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...

. Carolina loaned Bundu to

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...

of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

league for the 2011 season. Bundu went on loan to Ravan Baku of the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

at the start of the 2012–2013 season. Bundu made three appearances for Ravan, scoring once. Bundu signed with

club

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

on March 20, 2012.

International

Bundu has recently been called up to the Sierra Leone national team.

Philanthropy

Bundu physically left Sierra Leone, but Sierra Leone never left his heart. Throughout Bundu's professional career he often helped the people of Sierra Leone through collecting items such as shoes, clothing, and even soccer equipment and sending them "back home." But Bundu always longed to do more. It was the yearning in his heart to provide aid to the people of Sierra Leone that solidified the need for the Sal Bundu Foundation. The Sal Bundu Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is "to enhance the lives of the people of Sierra Leone through generous giving." The Sal Bundu Foundation collects monetary and non-monetary items such as shoes and clothing.'' Non-monetary items are packaged and shipped to orphanages and shelters in Sierra Leone for families and children in need. Monetary donations are used to provide structured assistance for those individuals. Bundu also raises funds for the Sal Bundu Foundation through conducting youth soccer clinics where Bundu trains and teaching young men about the sport of soccer.

References

External links

Charleston Battery bio
(archived 14 June 2012) * bundusoccerclinics.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bundu, Sallieu 1984 births Living people Sierra Leonean men's footballers Cleveland City Stars players North Carolina FC players Charlotte Eagles players Charleston Battery players VSI Tampa Bay FC players Footballers from Freetown USL First Division players USL Second Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players Sierra Leonean expatriates in the United States Temne people Sierra Leonean emigrants to the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Ravan Baku FK players People from Twinsburg, Ohio Sportspeople from Summit County, Ohio Men's association football forwards