Augustus Kargbo

Augustus Kargbo
Kargbo in 2022
Personal information
Full name Augustus Kargbo
Date of birth (1999-08-24) 24 August 1999 (age 27)
Place of birth Freetown, Sierra Leone
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Blackburn Rovers
Number 7
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Campobasso 20 (6)
2018–2023 Crotone 67 (6)
2018–2019 → Roccella (loan) 13 (4)
2019–2020 → Reggiana (loan) 21 (8)
2020–2021 → Reggiana (loan) 20 (2)
2023–2025 Cesena 51 (13)
2025– Blackburn Rovers 19 (1)
International career‡
2021– Sierra Leone 24 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:05, 10 October 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 October 2025

Augustus Kargbo (born 24 August 1999) is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

Early career

As a boy Augustus Kargbo was scouted by his agent Numukeh Tunkara in Freetown, Sierra Leone aged 13 years. Believing in his quality he then persuaded the family to allow him to take the boy to Guinea where he could have a better training and development opportunity.

Club career

Kargbo started his professional career with Serie D club Campobasso.

In the summer of 2018, he joined Serie B club Crotone and was loaned back to Serie D, to Rocella. He returned from loan in January 2019.

He made his Serie B debut for Crotone on 19 January 2019 in a game against Cittadella, as a 68th-minute substitute for Marco Firenze.

On 2 September 2019, Kargbo joined Reggiana on loan. On 22 July, he scored an important goal for the promotion of the club in Serie B in the final against Bari.

He made his Serie A debut for Crotone on 20 September 2020 in a 1–4 away loss against Genoa. On 29 September 2020 he returned to Reggiana on a new loan.

On 26 August 2023, Kargbo signed a three-year contract with Cesena.

On 31 January 2025, Kargbo signed for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

On 15 February 2025, Kargbo assisted Tyrhys Dolan in a 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle.

On 1 October 2025, Kargbo was involved in the build-up to the winning goal in a 2–1 defeat to Swansea City, losing possession near the halfway line which led to a counter-attack and an eventual goal scored by Liam Cullen. Following the match, Kargbo temporarily deactivated his Instagram account after receiving online abuse.

Later that week, on 5 October 2025, Kargbo scored his first goal for the club, netting the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Stoke City.

International career

On 29 September 2020, he was called up by Sierra Leone for the first team.

He made his debut for the Sierra Leone national football team on 6 October 2021 in a friendly against South Sudan. In December 2021, he was named in the Sierra Leone squad for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations as the nation prepared for their first appearance at the competition since 1996.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Campobasso 2017–18 Serie D 206———206
Crotone 2018–19 Serie B 5000——50
2019–20 Serie B 0000——00
2020–21 Serie A 1000——10
2021–22 Serie B 32310——333
2022–23 Serie C 30300——303
Total 67610——681
Roccella (loan) 2018–19 Serie D 113———113
Reggiana (loan) 2019–20 Serie C 241100——2411
2020–21 Serie B 20210——212
Total 441310——4513
Cesena 2023–24 Serie C 331000——3310
2024–25 Serie B 18331——224
Total 511331——5414
Blackburn Rovers 2024–25 Championship 801000—90
2025–26 Championship 1010010—111
2026–27 Championship 100000—10
Total 1911010—211
Career total 2154261100022243

International

As of match played 8 October 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sierra Leone 202120
202261
202361
202463
202540
Total245

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.13 June 2022General Lansana Conté Stadium, Conakry, Guinea Guinea-Bissau1–22–22023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.18 June 2023Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Paynesville, Liberia Nigeria2–22–3
3.5 June 2024Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida, Morocco Djibouti2–12–12026 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.10 June 2024Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali Burkina Faso1–22–2
5.10 September 2024Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia Zambia1–12–32025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. ↑ "EFL Professional Retain List 2025/26". efl.com. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Sierra Leone's Augustus Kargbo left mum at 13 and now plays in Italy bbc.com
  3. ↑ "Profile by TuttoCalciatori" (in Italian). TuttoCalciatori. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Crotone, Kargbo rientrato alla base dopo il prestito al Roccella" (in Italian). Crotone Sport. 11 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Crotone v Cittadella game report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 19 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "KARGBO IN PRESTITO ALLA REGGIO AUDACE" (Press release) (in Italian). Crotone. 2 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "Finale playoff Serie C: Reggiana-Bari 1-0. Emiliani in Serie B" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 22 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "Genoa v Crotone game report". Soccerway. 20 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Kargbo alla Reggiana" (in Italian). Crotone. 29 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "AUGUSTUS KARGBO È BIANCONERO" [AUGUSTUS KARGBO IS BLACK AND WHITE] (in Italian). Cesena. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "Hail, Augustus!". www.rovers.co.uk. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Report: Rovers 2–0 Plymouth Argyle". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Blackburn Rovers winger deactivates Instagram after online abuse". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Blackburn 1–1 Stoke: Augustus Kargbo earns point for Rovers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  15. ↑ Russo, Andrea (29 September 2020). "Kargbo, felicità doppia: Nazionale e Reggiana" (in Italian). Il Resto del Carlino. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "Sierra Leone v South Sudan game report". ESPN. 6 October 2021.
  17. ↑ "Afcon 2021: Ex-England defender Steven Caulker named in Sierra Leone squad". BBC Sport. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  18. ↑ Augustus Kargbo at Soccerway