By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
The Secretary General of the Western Area Football Association Benjamin Godorn has on 16th January 2023 disclose to this medium that its Region is fully ready to be part of the maiden edition of the Inter-Regional Football Competition.
Leone Rock Metal Group( chief sponsors) in collaboration with the National Sports Authority (NSA) Minister of Sports(MOS) and the Sierra Leone Football Association.
Said it an inter Regional competition that Leone Rock Metal Company wants to stage for the Regions across the country, in which the SLFA, NSA, and the Ministry of Sports are going to be part of it and it is a collaboration with the Leone Rock Metal Company.
He affirmed as a body in charge with the responsibility of organizing Football activities across the Western Area Urban and Rural they have been given the mandate to implement because Leone Rock Metal Company wants to give back to this Country,
“We all know Football is one of the most followed sports in the World and the Country, and most of its activities the government can’t do all of, so if a cooperating body like Leone Rock wants to come and help I think that is laudable said Benjamin Godin the Secretary General of this the Western Area Football Association.”
He further that most of these players that are currently taking part in the top fight Leagues came from the Regions, if the Leone Rock Company wants to give back to the regions directly or indirectly there is a need to embrace them with open hands that what the region has done. He noted that the cost that is involved with some up to (175, Millions Leones ) plus other expenses in Which the Champions will bag home 100, Millon Leones, and the runners with bag home (75 million Leones ) with other prices attached to it, adding that in all these at the end of the day Football wins.
Benjamin Gordon, Further that the expenses involved in the running of Football are now too expensive to run it only mind to run Football in this part of Africa, nothing that if Leone Rock Company wants to come and help develop Football in the Western Area Region and other Regions across the country is welcome news and they are ready to work with them in the interest of Promoting the game of football in Sierra Leone.
He said they are going to use the Government Trade Center Field, at Kissy Dock Yard at the East End of Freetown which is for the Urban Area, and for the Rural they either use the Angola field or the Bass Townfield at Waterloo and Fans will be paying the some of ten thousand Leones or better still ten Leones new notes. He called on the Football loving Fans to storm the Venues where these matches are going to be played and give support to their teams and the Region as well.
The Western Area Football Association has invited 60 players to start ahead tournament that is set to kick start later this month.
The Head of Corporate Affairs at the Leone Rock Metal Group said they’ve been operating as a mining company in the country for over ten years now and noted that it is a Chinese-based mining company that was previously known as King Mining Company.
The move to provide the necessary support to the competition he said is a way of giving back to society and also a way of promoting national cohesion as they’ve invested up to Fifty Thousand United States Dollars into the competition.
He, therefore, called on the Regional FA to properly coordinate their respective regions by ensuring they carefully put together the best football athletes to represent the various regions.
He confirmed that as a company will continue to play its critical role to ensure it becomes a yearly competition. Meanwhile, he called on all to take advantage of the opportunity as the event he noted will attract so many Chinese investors.
Whilst reading out the format, rules, and regulations of the competition, the Director of Competition at the SLFA who is also a member of the National Organizing Committee Sorie Ibrahim Sesay informed the local organizing committees are charged with the mandate to organize the competition. The competition he noted will officially commence on 28th January in Makeni City and with the final to be played in Bo City.
Below are the participating regions:
1. Southern Region
2. Eastern Region
3. North-East Region
4. North-West Region
5. Western Area Rural
6. Western Area Urban.