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16 February 2026  3 min read

Ballers in Freetown and London benefit from coach Jalloh

Originally from the West African country, the Level 2 coach relocated to London in 2020, but travels back every year to host basketball clinics for players and to support several teams. 

He is a renowned basketball figure known as Makadunka, having played for Sierra Leone internationally, as well as featuring in its national basketball league and serving the federation as a public relations officer. 

BE EDI Committee member Mo Jalloh (centre, black t-shirt, black shorts) travels to his native Sierra Leone once a year to coach basketball clinics

Basketball is a unifier

Jalloh is recently back from Freetown, helping boys and girls with their basketball skills and reinforcing the need for EDI in basketball and urging young players to ‘dream big, work hard and stay away from drugs’.

He is also the founder of a charity Life of a Baller, which organises an annual basketball event known as Ball Out Freetown, which showcases young talents from across Sierra Leone and is supported by the country’s federation and telecommunications company, Africell.  

Jalloh (far right) has played for the Sierra Leone national team, and is here photographed with the country's U16s team who played in his Ball Out Freetown event

Jalloh sees basketball as more than a sport; a ‘unifier that brings people together’.   

“Basketball has always been my passion since childhood, and it saved my life after enduring the 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone and the passing of my dad in a horrific car accident in 2002,” said Jalloh, who works as a rehabilitation technical instructor and career health ambassador for the NHS.  

“I see basketball not just as a sport, but as a unifier that brings people together irrespective of background, race or religion. I joined the [Basketball England] EDI Committee to be part of the change and to contribute to growing the game that I love.” 

Jalloh joined BE's EDI Committee to help basketball in England achieve its goals

Bexley Tigers U14 go undefeated

In the UK, his coaching career started at University College London, where he headed up the women’s second team competing in BUCS, before a stint with Christ the King Sixth Form College in South East London.  

He is currently assistant coach with the London Lions NBL D1 team, and with the GB Maxibasketball programme.  

His coaching highlight, however, was with the Bexley Tigers U14s team, who won the junior local basketball league in Kent with a 9-0 record in the 2024/25 season. 

In his role on BE’s EDI Committee, Jalloh hopes his extensive experience in the communication and events sector will help the committee achieve its goals.  

“My goal by the end of my term is to be part of a team that influenced, formulated and supported policies that helped make basketball in England more diverse, equal and inclusive,” he said.

BE's EDI Committee

Follow Makadunka