June 2, 2021
By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
The National Sports Authority (NSA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports in Press release dated Tuesday 1st June 2021 has cautioned the Sierra Leone Football Association Electoral Committee with regards concerns raised on the delegates list.
The National Sports Authority wishes to intimate the Sierra Leone Football Association Electoral Congress and the general public about the various concerns raised by the some stakeholders, including some Chairmen of clubs, Regional and District Football Associations among others regarding the publication of the SLFA Electoral Delegates list on the 28th May 2021.
The National Sports Authority stated that Furtherance to article (12) (2) of the SLFA Statutes “delegates must belong to the member that they represent and be appointed or elected by the appropriate body of the member. They must also be able to produce evidence of this upon request. Delegates of Executive Committee for the Premier League clubs shall be either the Chairman or their representative.”
The National Sports Authority said with the above provision as succinctly stated in the SLFA statutes, the National Sports Authority is of the opinion that the Electoral Committee has blatantly violated a mandatory provision of Article 21(2).
The National Sports Authority wishes to remind the Electoral Committee and the General public that two previous Congress have been held with same list without any major changes and those Congresses were held peacefully. The pending Congress delegates list is not only a violation of the SLFA statutes, but a complete departure from the last two Congresses and this has opened huge room for suspicion among key stakeholders and the public, hence there are some serious tension leading to security concerns ahead of the elections.
In this regard, NSA wishes to send a resounding caution that, should anything go wrong members of the SLFA Electoral Committee shall be squarely blamed for any negative consequences.
The NSA continue to remind all stakeholders about its statutory mandate to regulate, encourage, promote, develop and supervise all sports and sports related activities in the Country.