as the first-choice goalkeeper for Sierra Leone's under-17 squad both at the African U-17 Championship in Swaziland, where the Leone Stars achieved their best result ever by reaching the final (eventually lost to Cameroon), and the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland, where they finished last in their group, having collected just one point from a 3-3 draw against Spain, and were consequently eliminated from the tournament. Despite being eligible both for Sierra Leone and Finland (having obtained its citizenship), Bantamoi never won a senior international cap, neither with the former country, nor with the latter. However, he received a call-up for the Leone Stars in 2014, when he featured on the bench in both the matches against Cameroon (on October 10 and 15, respectively), regarding the qualification round to the 2015 African Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. Personal life In 2009, according to the local nationality laws, Bantamoi was granted Finnish citizenship, and later became part of the national association for footballers. Throughout the years, he supported the poor and the underprivileged kids and adolescents in Sierra Leone by sending essential football equipment (including balls, goalkeeping gloves, jerseys and shoes) to some local academies and centers. For these efforts, in 2020 he was nominated for the FIFPro Merit Awards, three special prizes assigned to the footballers who distinguished themselves the most for their impact out of the playing field and their activism. Honours KuPS Finnish League Cup: 2006 Inter Turku Veikkausliiga: 2008 Finnish League Cup: 2008 Finnish League Cup runners-up: 2007 Individual Finnish League Cup Best Player: 2006 Finnish All Star Game Best Player (unofficial): 2007 Veikkausliiga Goalkeeper of the Year: 2008 References External links Official stats on Veikkausliiga.com Patrick Bantamoi on Soccerway 1986 births Living people Sierra Leonean footballers Sierra Leonean expatriate footballers Association football goalkeepers Expatriate footballers in Finland Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Veikkausliiga players Kuopion Palloseura players FC Inter Turku players SC Telstar players FC Espoo players FC Viikingit players Rovaniemen Palloseura players People from Bo, Sierra Leone Finnish people of Sierra Leonean descent Naturalized citizens of Finland Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Finland