By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
The Minister of Sports Ibrahim Nylnkeh has disclosed in an interview that it is neither the Government nor the Ministry of Sports that organizes friendlies matches for the Senior National team (Leone Stars ) but the responsibility of the Sierra Leone Football Association because they are charged with the responsibility to run the affairs of Football in the country.
Minister Nylenkeh said when it is time for Friendly matches for the National team the Football Association takes great responsibility for ensuring that Football is played in the corners of the Country, noting that the role of the Government to the National team is to provide the necessary funding that is required for any support towards the national team, adding that this has been the normal procedures as Government when supporting the Leone Stars team.
He affirmed that the Government has supported the Senior National team to play 12 Friendly matches since when they came into Power and they have invested in Sports more than other governments in the history of Sierra Leone the Government of President Bio has given the highest encouragement to and support to the Senior National team as players match bonuses has been increased to a figure that all the players have accepted and ready to deliver for the people of Sierra Leone.
Ibrahim Nylenkeh said before the team departs for the friendly match in Dubai, there was a meeting held at his Office, where the members of the Football Federation, the National Sports Authority, and the Team Manager of the National team were all present to how to go about the Friendly match, and in that, they agreed on fruitful what to do before departure and all present agreed to the decision taken and what not to do.
He further that the initial agreement was to play two friendly matches and that play against the Desert Foxes of Algeria team A and Rwanda on the 13th and 18th of November 2022. But to the greatest surprise when the team is about to depart for Dubai they find out that the Algeria team A match has been cancelled and that the Rwanda match has also been called off by the agent, but before doing that the Agent sent a letter to the General Secretary of the Football Federation, but there was no reply and that what lead to the Leone Stars A team to play against the Algeria B team who defeated Leone Stars by three goals to nil.
He added that the miss information that is going around that it is the Ministry of Sports that Organized the said Friendly match is false and misleading to the highest degree because that is not the mandate of the Ministry of Sports to be organizing Friendly matches in the Country, as FIFA and CAF don’t deal with the Ministry of Sports in terms of Friendly matches but they deal with the Sierra Leone Football Association because they charge with the responsibility to run Football in the Country.