| 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) |
| 2021–2025 | 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) | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
| 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||