LONDON (AFP) - Watford footballer Al Bangura who fears his life would be in danger if he were deported to his native Sierra Leone moved closer Wednesday to being allowed to stay in Britain.

The 19-year-old for the second-tier Championship side was refused permission to stay in Britain last week, but after a meeting between club officials and immigration minister Liam Byrne he was told he can apply for a work permit.

Claire Ward, a lawmaker for the ruling Labour Party who set up the meeting, said: "We've been offered another avenue which we hope will allow Al to remain in the country.

"Liam Byrne has given a concession which will allow Watford Football Club to apply for a work permit for Al and for Al to remain in the country while that happens. This is exceptional news."

Bangura, a midfielder, would normally have little chance of obtaining a work permit because he has not played for Sierra Leone and the west African country is ranked outside the top 70 nations by world football's governing body FIFA.

But Ward said Bangura's case "will be considered by an independent panel which will include members of the Home Office and members of the football world.

"They will consider his track record and what he brings to the game and then recommend to the Home Office whether he should be allowed to stay."

Alongside the application for a work permit, lawyers have also lodged an appeal against the decision to deport him. Watford chairman Graham Simpson said "it was a positive move forward."

"He is a special case because he is a highly skilled individual who has a great talent and if you send him back to the country where he has come from then he will be unable to use that talent and that is a great shame," he told Sky Sports News.

Bangura, whose girlfriend gave birth to a son this month, fled to Britain four years ago because he feared members of a witchcraft sect that indulges in mutilation wanted him to succeed his father who headed the cult. He has played more than 50 times for Watford, but is currently injured.