Mohamed Buya Turay becomes the first Sierra Leonean footballer to reach one million Instagram followers

Sierra Leonean footballer and Henan Songshan Longme F.C. striker Mohamed Buya Turay have amassed one million Instagram followers, the first and only Sierra Leonean footballer to reach this milestone.

The 27-year-old Sierra Leonean has been one of the best Sierra Leonean players for the past three seasons. In the 2019/2020 season, Mohamed Buya Turay became the first Sierra Leonean star to win a golden boot in Europe after netting 15 top-flight league goals for Swedish top-tier side Djurgårdens IF. Turay’s goals helped Djurgårdens IF to win the Swedish Allsvenskan.

With over 100,000 followers on Facebook with a verified account, the player has gained a million followers on the photo and video-sharing social networking service Instagram – the first Sierra Leonean footballer to do so and one of the few Sierra Leoneans to attain such following on the social sharing platform. The player is known for his generosity in helping sick children in Sierra Leone whose parents can’t afford to pay for their medical bills. Not only that, Turay has helped charity organizations by donating millions of Leones to support their course in helping humanity.

Born in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Buya Turay started his football career on the streets of Freetown where he was scouted by local side FC Mattia. His sterling performance and ability to score goals attracted so many football academies in Sierra Leone and neighboring Guinea. Mohamed Buya Turay was taken to Sweden for trial by Academy Director Numukeh Tunkara. Turay got his first trial in Sweden with Vasalunds but was unlucky to get a contract. After an unsuccessful trial with Vasalunds, Turay traveled to Nigeria to have another trial. There, Patrick Mörk, an agent spotted Turay’s talent and took him and then contacted Juventus IF to sign him. Fortunately for Turay, the club signed him.

At Juventus IF, Turay made himself known in Sweden by registering 20 goals in eleven matches for the club in the 2013/2014 season. His amazing run of goals attracted interest from multiple clubs in Europe such as Standard Liège, Gefle IF, and Assyriska. Turay made twenty–five appearances for Juventus IF and scored thirty–two times.

His rise to stardom came when he signed for to Swedish Allsvenskan side Djurgårdens IF for the rest of the 2019 season. Turay quickly established himself as a first-team player for the team, playing as a first-choice striker. Turay went on to score 15 league goals in 29 league appearances for Djurgårdens IF helping the club to win the title. Turay won the Swedish Allsvenskan golden boot, making him the first Sierra Leonean in history to win a golden boot in Europe.