One of the leading top-flight football clubs in Sierra Leone, FC Johansen has on 8th July 2022 officially withdrawn their sensational midfielder, the Ghanaian-born Samuel Bekoe from the Sierra Leone National Home Base (Leone Stars B Team) training camp.
A leaked letter written by FC Johansen Secretary James Momorie to the Federation’s Head of Competition Sorie Ibrahim Sesay stated the player in question”is NOT a Sierra Leonean, and as such, he is not eligible to represent the country.”
Statement from FC Johansen letter reads:
“By good governance and upholding the integrity of the laws of the game and constitutional laws of the country, the board has decided to withdraw the said player from the SLFA National training camp with immediate effect. In addition, any allowances given to Samuel Bekoe by SLFA will be instantly refunded to the federation.”
“Samuel’s love for Sierra Leone and football is uncompromising and our prayer is that he will one day live his dream to play for our beloved nation.”
It can be recalled that Samuel was amongst one of the favorite players tipped to represent Sierra Leone at the 2021 AFCON finals in Cameroon earlier this year.
According to sources within FA, senior officials had confirmed that Samuel’s naturalization from Ghanaian to Sierra Leonean was in progress in line with the country’s laws, and assurances were given to get it done. All of which came to a disappointing end amidst controversies amongst teammates and officials.
In March this year, Samuel was again called up to be part of the Leone Stars squad in the Antalya Cup in Turkey. His eligibility status was still not settled, but he was released by his club FC Johansen based on the fact that the match he would feature in (Sierra Leone vs Liberia) was not a FIFA-sanctioned match, which allows for a certain number of foreign players to be featured in unofficial matches of that nature.
Fast forward, Samuel’s naturalization wasn’t forthcoming, as reports say that he has not yet fulfilled the residential clause in the Sierra Leone Law on naturalization, and he remains a non-Sierra Leonean.
However, the FA recently invited Samuel to join the National Home Base Team in camp as they prepare for the CHAN qualifiers against Cape Verde.
This decision prompted FC Johansen to withdraw the player from the squad, citing Fifa’s statutory regulations on player eligibility. The club also drew attention to the Football Federation of constitutional laws of the land (Sierra Leone), relating to eligibility for naturalization.
The founder of FC Johansen, Madam Isha Johansen, Former SLFA President, and now a FIFA Council Member and CAF Executive Member, could not be reached to comment on this latest dramatic move by the club neither could her son Malik, who is the CEO. It is however being reported that Madam Isha Johansen was furious upon learning about the player being called up despite his status not being regularized.
A club official remarked that the club will not be part of another football embarrassment for the country.
“In as much as we all yearn to see Samuel representing our beloved country, we must also be mindful of the repercussions of fielding an ineligible player for an international tournament. This is about our integrity as a club and to save the nation from yet another international embarrassment,” James Memorie, Club Secretary – FC Johansen
The young Ghanaian midfielder is one of the country’s most loved talismans who still desire to represent Sierra Leone when he is fully regularized.
