By Alpha Abu
Popular businessman and football promoter Babadi Kamara has decided to throw his hat into the ring for the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Presidency, sparking intense interest over an Election that is two years away.
It couldn’t have ignited such hype, had it been left to the incumbent and any other football stakeholder in the country, therefore the excitement now being generated is quite understandable.
Babadi is no doubt a formidable contender with a pedigree in football administration that is unmatched in the history of the sport in Sierra Leone. The undisputed and impressive evidence of his handiwork is there in the open for all to see.
Kamara’s involvement with Bo Rangers Football Club some six years ago has positively portrayed him as a man who initiates a vision and practically ensures its realisation. He has single handedly changed the whole narrative of club football management in the country, bringing in the elements of sustenance, class and ingenuity. He has practically transformed into realistic and enduring legacies, his visionary attributes, that are now etched in the history of football in Sierra Leone.
One could remember way back when Babadi was trying to change the course of history at Bo Rangers - a team that at the time was an unattractive proposition. Rangers for years were a lower table side in the league and were in the shadows of iconic clubs like Mighty Blackpool and East End Lions, Diamond Stars and even their neighbours, Kamboi Eagles.
He promised to transform everything about Bo Rangers and set out goals which he achieved within five years; he built them a Club House, got the team to win its first premier league and thus representing the country at continental club level, and can now even play their home matches in a multi-million dollar stadium built by Babadi Kamara. These were all the things he promised and which he succeeded in achieving.
Today the club comfortably sits among the likes of Blackpool, Lions and FC Kallon, if not the envy of the lot.
Kamara’s coming to football administration or management has completely changed the image of the game experienced over the decades- replacing strong man rule and mediocrity with openness, class and ambition. He’s changed the trajectory of how football should be run. Everybody from Bo district feels proud to be part of the team from young professionals to traditional rulers. So in a nutshell Babadi is simply a person to be taken seriously on his promises, a credible and resourceful individual.
Believing in collective support that could help in sustaining the financing of Bo Rangers, Babadi has succeeded in cultivating the support of the club’s supporter base including that of working professionals from the district who contribute their monthly dues to the club.
His decision to run for the FA presidency could have been driven by the desire to bring his experience, skills and innovative ideas at club football administration to national level. There’s a growing feeling in football circles within the country that he has unselfishly invested so much in the game that he should be trusted to lead the country’s foremost football association sooner rather than later. The SLFA has always struggled for visionary leadership. Today, by pure accident of history the organization is in the hands of a man who was totally unprepared for the job and has spent his days in office learning on the job.
Many say it is such a personality like Babadi with the ability to face head-on challenges, and with the cleverness to surmount those challenges as demonstrated in his transformation of Bo Rangers, that he should be placed at the helm of affairs at SLFA. The 56 Delegates who will have to decide with their votes come election day could not find a better option than in Babadi whose name is an embodiment of success.
His transformative initiatives in football continue to attract the attention of even other influential football administrators outside of the country such as President of the Guinea Football Federation Antonio Souare with whom he has close ties.
His announcement in joining the race has just about raised the profile of the election. Babadi as SLFA president will signify progress, stability, prudence and growth for Salone football.
Babadi is unstoppable and is the real deal!
Copyright (c) 2024 (Politico 02/02/24)
