Conteh was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Muslim parents from the limba ethnic group. A Muslim himself, Conteh grew up in poverty. As a teenager, he was frequently seen playing street football across Freetown with boys much older than he was. As a teenager, he was considered the best secondary school footballer in Sierra Leone. He dropped out of the Ahmmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Freetown in 1992 to become a professional footballer.
Conteh made his international debut for Sierra Leone in 1994, at the age of seventeen.
Though a Muslim, Lamin was highly involved in the Rastafari movement and was a big fan of reggae star Bob Marley.
At the age of 18, Conteh was selected to play for Sierra Leone in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations held in Tunisia. He was also picked in the squad for the following tournament in South Africa two years later. After a match against Nigeria in 2000, Conteh claimed that the Sierra Leone Football Association owed him $2,000, and refused to play for his country until the money was paid to him.[3] The matter was later resolved, and in 2002, he took over the captaincy of the national team from Mohamed Kallon.[5]
