By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
Sierra Leone has won ICC’s Best Women’s Cricket Development Initiative Award 2024 in Africa, adding to three other enviable gains in 2023. In the year 2023, it swept the following awards: Cricket 4 Good Social Initiative, 100% Female Cricket Initiative of the Year, ICC Associate Member Men’s Performance of the Year, and ICC Associate Women’s Performance of the Year.
The country’s gain in the 2024 performance season has also led to its nomination for the Prestigious Global Award alongside Spain, Vanuatu, Brazil, and Bhutan.
The Board Chairman of Cricket Sierra, Francis Trevor Samura, said the 2024 feat is in recognition and acknowledgement of CSL’s outstanding female cricket focused initiative.
“The years 2023 and 2024 have been incredibly successful for Sierra Leone Cricket. We would continue to follow the path of development as a Board and work with key stakeholders to accelerate growth,” he added, thanking all those who contributed to the national grace.
In another development Cricket Sierra Leone Cricket Sierra Leone (CSL) has trained 16,037 pupils in just two weeks through its Cricket 4 Schools Programme in the Western Area. The initiative, led by 80 cricket development officers and supported by over 200 trained PHE teachers, reached 64 schools 26 primary, 22 junior secondary, and 16 senior engaging 7,696 boys and 8,341 girls.
The programme aims to reach 100,000 participants nationwide by December 31, 2025. Activities include coaching clinics, school cricket festivals for children under 12, and various inter-school cricket competitions. Initial steps included registering pupils via CSL forms and introducing them to cricket fundamentals.