Sierra Leone’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Her Excellency Anna Moussa, has urged the U-19 Men’s side to go for the champion trophy and join Uganda, Tanzania, and Namibia for the Division 1 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier slated for April 2023.
Addressing the team at their Nicon Luxury hotel in Abuja, she apologized to the Sierra Leone delegation for not welcoming them on the day of their arrival in Abuja as she was out of Nigeria on official duty in Senegal.
She said that it is her duty to make sure Sierra Leoneans visiting Abuja enjoy their stay in the country. On this obligation, Her Excellency told the players and officials to update her on any challenges they are facing at the hotel and at the field of play.
In response, the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association (SLCA), Francis Trevor Samura, asked that the Embassy in Abuja provide Sierra Leone Leonean-type dinner for the team until time of departure. He went on to inform the Deputy High Commissioner about their financial constraints to take part in international competitions. “We need money to motivate the boys to fight all out to win laurels for the country,” he said.
The Deputy High Commissioner promised to hang heads with her boss the High Commissioner on how to chip in with a little to motivate the players. “The team has won two individual men of the match awards and is now aiming at lifting either the champion trophy or the runner-up one. This is great,” she surmised.