Juma Bah
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdulai Juma Bah | ||
| Date of birth | 11 April 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Freetown, Sierra Leone | ||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Lens (on loan from Manchester City) | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Freetown Giant Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | AIK Freetong | ||
| 2022–2024 | → Freetonians SLIFA (loan) | ||
| 2024 | → Valladolid B (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Valladolid (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2025 | Valladolid | 2 | (0) |
| 2025– | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Lens (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 January 2025 | |||
Abdulai Juma Bah (born 11 April 2006) is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lens, on loan from Premier League club Manchester City.
Early life
[edit]Born in Freetown, Bah helped his parents in their bakery during his youth while playing in the streets. Spotted by agent Chernor Musa Jalloh while playing for Freetown Giant Academy, he was signed by AIK Freetong in April 2021.[1][2]
Club career
[edit]Early career
[edit]In 2022, Bah was loaned to Sierra Leone National Premier League side Freetonians SLIFA, spending two years playing for the club and captaining the side during the 2023–24 season.[3]
Valladolid
[edit]On 26 August 2024, after being spotted by Real Valladolid scout Pachu Martínez,[1] Bah joined the club on a one-year loan deal, being initially assigned to the reserves in Segunda Federación.[4] After playing one match with the B-side, he made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 21 September 2024, starting in a 0–0 home draw against Real Sociedad;[5] he also became the first Sierra Leonean to play in the Spanish top tier in the process.[6] He subsequently became a regular unit in the main squad, no longer training with the B's.
On 21 January 2025, Bah and his agent announced that he would leave Valladolid by paying his release clause, to move to Manchester City.[7] The following day, after the player did not show up to training, Valladolid released a statement accusing Bah of "failure to comply with his contractual commitments" to the club while likewise claiming that Bah had paid his own release clause with the "support and guidance" of both his agent and Manchester City. In that same statement, Valladolid also announced that they had exercised Bah's buyout clause on 1 January, with him "starting to belong to the club under a new contract of longer duration and better conditions".[8]
Manchester City
[edit]Loan to Lens
[edit]On 27 January 2025, Manchester City confirmed that Bah was registered as a player for the club and announced that he has been sent on loan to Ligue 1 club Lens in France.[9][10]
International career
[edit]On 28 May 2024, Bah was called up to the Sierra Leone national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Djibouti and Burkina Faso.[11]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of 21 January 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AIK Freetong | 2024–25 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Valladolid B (loan) | 2024–25 | Segunda Federación | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Valladolid (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Valladolid | 2024–25 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Manchester City | 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| RC Lens (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Juma Bah: el panadero en Sierra Leona que ya encandila en Valladolid" [Juma Bah: the baker in Sierra Leone who is already a hype at Valladolid] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Juma Bah's Family in Joy After Making History". SierraLoaded. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "SLIFA Retires Juma Bah's Number 28 Jersey in Tribute to His Legacy". Awoko Newspaper. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "Juma, más juventud para la zaga del Promesas" [Juma, more youth for the defense of Promesas] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "El vertiginoso viaje de Juma" [Juma's dizzying journey] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "New Real Valladolid defender Juma Bah makes La Liga debut". Football Sierra Leone. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Juma comunica al Real Valladolid que abonará su cláusula de rescisión para irse al Manchester City" [Juma tells Real Valladolid that he will pay up his release clause to move to Manchester City] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "Comunicado oficial: Abdulai Juma Bah" [Official announcement: Abdulai Juma Bah] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "Bah joins RC Lens on loan". Manchester City. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Juma Bah, nouveau roc artésien" (in French). RC Lens. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Final Squad". Twitter. Sierra Leone Football Association.
External links
[edit]- 2006 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Freetown
- Sierra Leonean men's footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- La Liga players
- Segunda Federación players
- Real Valladolid Promesas players
- Real Valladolid players
- Manchester City F.C. players
- RC Lens players
- Sierra Leonean expatriate men's footballers
- Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in France