By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
Minister of Sports, Augusta James Teima says in the next five years Sierra Leone will qualify for football’s greatest tournament- the World Cup.
Teima made this statement at the Ministry of Information and Civic Education’s Press Conference held at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Freetown on 27th February, 2024.
"Finance for sport is not given on time, but we have launched the Sports Development Fund that would help us generate funds for sport activities," the Minister maintained.
Speaking about football infrastructure, she said ‘more’ mini stadiums needed to be built, noting the Siaka Stevens stadium is not ‘enough’ for football matches. She went on to say that work on the stadium will be completed at the end of this year.
To address leadership problems in the sports sector, Tiema noted that an arbitration court should be established for speedy investigations.
"We want to want to put an end to all the disputes in the sports sector. We need a body that will have the power to arbitrate over conflicts in the sport sector," she emphasised.
She furthered that men are ‘mostly’ the ones that attack female referees, and that they are working with the National Sports Authority (NSA) to address the problem.
In his statement, the Chairman of the Leone Rock Premier League, Victor Lewis said the future of football in the country is "bright," disclosing that a footballer with FC Kallon has recently been signed by one of the clubs in Sweden, and that it will serve the country right if more professional players are produced.
Over the years, he added that government has been supporting the Premier league."Every week, over fifty-five to sixty million old Leones is spent in league matches’’, he said.
He stated that corporate sponsorship was lacking in the league, and they had to secure sponsorship from Leone Rock to sustain the competition.
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