Ibou Sawaneh off to Qatar

Ibou Sawaneh joins Al Muaither Sports Club

Gambia international striker Ibou Sawaneh has joined Qatar Stars League side Al Muaither Sports Club on a season-long loan deal from OH Leuven.

The 27-year-old joined Leuven from RAEC Mons in 2012, scoring 19 times in 36 league appearances in the 2012/2013 Belgian Jupiler Pro League campaign.

He was one of the five nominees for the Ebony Golden Shoe, an award given to the best player in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League with African roots.

But he has since struggled to force his way through into coach Ronny Van Geneugden’s team, failing to find the back of the net in four Jupiler Pro League appearances.

Sawaneh was the country’s most talked about player in the transfer market as he courted interest from four different clubs.

English Championship club Reading, French Ligue 1 side AS Saint-Étienne, Dutch Eredivisie club FC Utrecht and Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 side Club Africain were all interested in the 5ft 10in striker but Leuven spurned those offers saying it is not near their valuation of the forward.

The Gambia international has now left Belgium for Qatar where he will play his trade until the end of the 2013/2014 season.

A Leuven club statement read: “Ibou [Sawaneh] will this season defend the colors of Muaither SC playing in the Qatar Stars League. Muaither SC missed promotion to the highest class, but because the Qatari league was recently expanded from 12 to 14 clubs, they got a place in the Qatar Stars League. He will play with them until the end of this season, without a buying option.”

The Heverlee-based club went on to reveal that Sawaneh’s move to Qatar was triggered by his poor form which came as a result of speculations in the transfer market window.

“Transfer perils caused the Leuven striker, who last season hit 19 goals and also found scattered around lavish assists this season, never took his best form,” Leuven said.

“Thank God for this opportunity. [This is a] new chapter in my life, new team, [and a] new challenge. God is Great [and] I will work harder and play harder – INSHALLAH,” the former Lech Poznań, KSK Beveren, KV Kortrijk, KV Mechelen and RAEC Mons forward said of the move.

Sawaneh began his career at Polish Ekstraklasa [top-tier] side Lech Poznań in 2004, spending two seasons at the club before moving to KSK Beveren in Belgium where he notched in 23 goals in 39 appearances during his two-year stint at the East Flanders-based club.

He later moved to West Flanders where he joined KV Kortrijk in 2008. During his time at the club, he was sent on-loan to KV Mechelen and RAEC Mons [who had an option to make the loan permanent].