1. MEDIA RELEASE
July 6th
, 2015
Attached: Images of Mustapha Bundu
Magic Mus is Hartpury’s latest footballing
crown jewel
As a seven-year-old boy, Mustapha Bundu was handed his first ever pair
of football boots from his father, making him ‘feel like a king’.
Fast forward 11 years and his goals have led Hartpury to be crowned national champions
after their English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) Boys Colleges Trophy triumph
over Myerscough College.
And the Sierra Leone talent is looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow West African
footballers Abdul Majeed Waris and David Accam, who both achieved national acclaim at
the college before embarking on their respective paths to a professional career.
Bundu, who scored a brace in the 4-3 ESFA final win, said: “It was amazing to win the cup
and something I will always be proud of. Hopefully I can use this to keep pushing on in the
future.”
His goalscoring exploits for Hartpury will come as no surprise to those who know him back
in Sierra Leone. Born in the capital of Freetown, Bundu was never without a football
growing up.
“My dad is a football coach and he got me into the sport straight away. I was always out
playing football with my friends or I was watching my brother play,” he said.
When his family moved away from Freetown due to his father’s work commitments, Bundu
joined a local football team, continuing to develop his skills.
In 2010, Bundu attended trials for the Craig Bellamy Foundation - a charity founded by the
ex-Premier League player that offers underprivileged children in Sierra Leone the chance
to reach their true potential through football and education.
Hartpury College, Hartpury House Gloucester. GL19 3BE
e: enquire@hartpury.ac.uk | t: 01452 702345

2. The striker made an instant impression and made it through the final cut to join the first
football academy set up in the country. However, this meant leaving his family home and
moving to the residential academy.
He said: “The academy was eight hours away from my home but my parents and I knew it
was an amazing opportunity.
“We would train at 7am for an hour almost every day and then have some breakfast
before going to lessons. We’d train again in the evenings before dinner and then have
time to study and relax in the night. I would be there for three months and then have two
weeks to spend time with my family.”
In the summer of 2011, a 14-year-old Bundu was invited to travel to the UK and train with
Welsh side Cardiff City and their Under-15s squad. He followed this up over the next two
years with summer spells at Premier League outfits Liverpool and Manchester City.
Despite scholarship offers from America, Bundu remained at the academy, and America’s
loss turned out to be Hartpury’s gain.
Bundu said: “Some of the Foundation staff members visited Hartpury and they came back
and said that I needed to go there as it is a great pathway to professional football but
more importantly a place to get a really good education.
“I could have waited another year to travel Europe and get trials at professional clubs but I
asked my parents what they thought and they said I should take the opportunity to come
to Hartpury.”
He arrived at Hartpury in September 2014 at a time when the Ebola outbreak was
widespread across Africa, meaning he was separated from his family for an extended
period due to quarantine rules.
“My family were absolutely fine but it was such a sad time as some people in my country
were really struggling. It’s good to know that the worst is past now,” he added.
“I speak to my parents and my old coach once or twice a week. My mum likes to check
that I’m doing my homework!”
Bundu has set the college football scene in the UK alight with electrifying performances
throughout this season and spearheaded Hartpury’s charge to ESFA cup glory; scoring an
incredible 18 goals in just six games in that competition.
He also played a starring role in securing Hartpury’s berth in the English Colleges
Football Association (ECFA) National Championships play-off final, where the college
agonisingly lost on penalties to Football Academy of Bisham at Notts County’s Meadow
Lane in May despite Bundu scoring a fantastic hat-trick.
He said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far. One of the reasons I chose to come here
was because I could also get an education while I’m here. That is important to me.
“The whole team have been great and I am lucky to be a part of a really good squad. We
are always helping each other to become better players.”
Hartpury College, Hartpury House Gloucester. GL19 3BE
e: enquire@hartpury.ac.uk | t: 01452 702345

3. His form did not go unnoticed and the forward has represented the England Schools
Under-18s squad this year, alongside Hartpury teammate Lewis Fogg. The call-up was
exactly what Bundu had dreamed of after a chance meeting with a former Hartpury star
almost five years ago.
“When I first joined the Foundation, we travelled to the Right to Dream (RtD) Academy in
Ghana as our facilities weren’t ready. I saw [Abdul Majeed] Waris and I saw his picture of
him in an England kit. He told me about England Schools and I set myself a goal of
making the squad when I came to Hartpury,” he explained.
With one goal already achieved, the 18-year-old is now looking to realise his next dream.
He said: “I always go out to do my best when I play football and hopefully somebody will
spot me. I’ve always wanted to be a professional player and I am so happy to be at a
place that is helping me try to reach that goal.
“If I don’t make it in football then I would love to be a coach, like my dad. Giving back is
one of the most important things in my life and if I get the chance to do that as a coach
then I would do it.”
Paul Tassell, Hartpury’s junior football programme manager, said: “Mustapha has had an
unbelievable year and it is very exciting to have a player with so much potential in our
ranks. Our aim now is to help him develop and progress to fulfil that potential he is
capable of.
“He has settled in really well and has been an invaluable member of the squad. If he
continues to put in the hard work, I am confident that he will get to where he wants to be.
He is unplayable at times and is a joy to coach. We will do everything we can to help him.”
ENDS
Hartpury College is one of the UK’s leading land-based and sports colleges. The campus
covers more than 360 hectares and is located near to Gloucester and Cheltenham. The
college is the world’s largest equine education facility and regularly wins national titles in
rugby, football, netball and golf.
Hartpury is an Associate Faculty of the University of the West of England (UWE) and has
1,400 students completing foundation degrees, honours degrees and postgraduate
qualifications in equine, sport and animal and land studies. The College also has 2,000
students studying A Levels, BTEC Diplomas and short courses.
Issued by: Niall Halford, Marketing Assistant, niall.halford2@hartpury.ac.uk, 01452
702428.
Hartpury College, Hartpury House Gloucester. GL19 3BE
e: enquire@hartpury.ac.uk | t: 01452 702345