By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
ICC Development Officer for Africa Justin Ligyalingi has rained praises on the Board and administration of Cricket Sierra Leone for the massive ongoing work at the FBC cricket site, disclosing that the country is close to being ranked in category A for meeting key benchmarks.
He expressed this sentiment during his one-day visit to the country on Wednesday.
His visit aimed to see how fast Sierra Leone is moving with its infrastructure project, for it has not hosted an international tournament since 2005. His move also included initiating talks on how the country could accelerate its governance structure, which unhealthy stories from outside have been hindering.
Speaking during his visit, ICC Development Officer Ligyalingi anchored the country’s 20-year absence from hosting international tournaments to the lack of a good cricket facility. “Sierra Leone is missing a lot as it only presents four teams every year on the international stage. We have set 2027 as a timeline for Sierra Leone to host an ICC tournament,” he said, adding that he is going away with the firsthand impression that work has started at FBC, and it is in good stage.
He told government authorities that Sierra Leone is one of the major cricketing nations in Africa. “We see potentials in the country. You see natural sportsmen and women. And indeed, we want cricket to play everywhere,” he said.
Regarding the bad stories coming from outside, he informed government authorities that Sierra Leone needs to work on its governance structure. “The bad stories should not take away the good ones,” he emphasized.
He praised the Ministry of Sports for ensuring that cricket was among the sporting disciplines President Bio recognized at State House.
However, he told state representatives that 20 percent of the ICC scorecard rating comes from non-ICC income, imploring the state to do more for cricket on that side.
On Wednesday, Ligyalingi had meetings with the National Sports Authority and the Ministry of Sports to forge healthy partnerships and to curry government’s support for cricket.