He went on to play college soccer for the NCAA Division I Milwaukee Panthers, where, as a striker, he became the school's all-time scoring leader, with 53 goals and 32 assists from 1990 to 1993.

In 2004, he came back to MLS, signing with the Columbus Crew, to play alongside long-time friend, college and Thunder teammate Manny Lagos.

The crew finished the season with the league's best record and a 19-game unbeaten streak but lost in the playoffs after they missed two penalty kicks, one of which marred Sanneh's time there.

He made 13 appearances with the Western Conference champions (including five starts) but struggled with injuries the latter half of the season and was not invited to 2010's training camp.

Sanneh made his debut for the United States national team on January 29, 1997, in a 2–1 loss to China but failed to make Steve Sampson's final squad and was left out of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.

Sanneh then had very good seasons from there on out, enough to impress new U.S. coach Bruce Arena scoring his first international goal in a shock 3–0 win over Germany.

In the US first game of the tournament, a 3–2 upset of Portugal, his precise cross from the right side of the field provided an assist to Brian McBride's goal.

After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Sanneh was rarely picked due to injury and an influx of young talent into the national team pool.

However, after playing impressively for the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire in MLS, he was recalled for the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, starting in group games against Cuba and Costa Rica.

In this function, he has traveled to Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cyprus, Haiti, and Malaysia, where he worked with to conduct soccer clinics and events that reached more than 3000 youth from underserved areas.

[7][8][9][10][11] In November 2014, Sanneh received the Athletes in Excellence Award from The Foundation for Global Sports Development, in recognition of his community service efforts and work with youth.