The Sierra Leone Football Association has on the 7th January 2022 requested that all players of the National team should return their Umbro Suitcase they used during the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon and team Jersey.
According to Secretary-General of the Sierra Leone Football Association, Christopher Kamara said it was an agreement between the Football Association and the players before the tournament and that they should retune their suitcases after the tournament if failed they will have to account for it.
Alhaji Andrino Kamara one of the players of Leone Stars said because they have failed to return their suitcase their match bounces of one thousand dollars has be withheld by the Football Association.
On the contrary, the team manager of Leone Stars Babadi Kamara said he is not in favor of the Association’s decision as it will has the tendency to destroy the image the integrity of a great football nationwide and the country. How on earth can someone single handedly seized the money of players who have sacrificed for their nation for a suitcase that is less than a U.S dollar? He asked.
He affirmed that the decision is taken by the scribe of the Sierra Leone Football Association, Christopher Kamara and it is not an Executive Committee decision and not the team official decisions. He added such attitude could bring down the good image of the Government and the national as a whole.
He further that what has happened has a great tendency to drive away foreign base players who want to come and represent these Country, as such development it not good for any national team.
He added that these things have been happening on many occasions but no one is taking actions to such wrong doing, and sometimes when foreign base players are called up to represent their national team some will normally make strong comments regarding the Jerseys size, the quality of it, the food they eat their treatment can be of great concerned, asked that such should be the focus of the SLFA to improve on players concerned.
Babadi Kamara said “there is no way where players went to a tournament just after the tournament they will request for kits from players it only in Sierra Leone these things happen.”
With what has happened these has raised huge high concerns as to what contract the Football Association signed with Umbro because the said contract need to be reviewed he added.
He said the Government really need to check some of these negative development that is surrounding the national team, because Government spent huge towards the preparations of the national from the qualifiers to the tournament and that has nothing to do with third party interference because the money is Government fund and FIFA so it need a thorough check.
“I have always being talking to the players to put Sierra Leone first and I will continue to engage them on daily basis to help them over these negative thing that has happened,” he added.
Sierra Leone National team will start the 2023 Africa Cup Nations qualifiers in June when the group stages qualifiers kick off.