By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Captain of the Sierra Leone Women’s Cricket Team, Linda Nyaje Bull, has said the Students Union Government (SUG) is trying to revive cricket and all other sports at Fourah Bay College.
Bull, who is also the Deputy Minister of Sports in the SUG, told Politico that plans are in advanced stages to develop a cricket pitch for the game and recruit interested women for the sport.
“We want to revive all the games on campus and we are starting with Cricket. Before now I had spoken with the CEO of the cricket association and he said they were interested in reviving the game on campus. So I saw that as an opportunity, that’s why we have allotted some piece of land to the association for the development of a cricket ground,” she said.
The piece of land is situated at Havelock grounds just at the outskirts of the main campus.
Sports at the college and across the university had not been going for years. Last year the college held sports meet after years of hiatus. Bull said the current SUG understands the importance of sports that is why they are pushing for its revival.
Last week her ministry facilitated the donation of assorted cricket gears to the Fourah Bay College Cricket Club from the national association. The Sierra Leone Cricket Association officials said the donation was part of their efforts to ensure kids who play cricket in school also continue to play the game when they are in college, thereby ensuring a continuous growth in their career.
Athletics and football continue to be the most popular sports in colleges across the country since Cricket as a sport became moribund at the college. Cricket will now have to compete for students’ attention.
But Bull said she isn’t worried about that because there are current players in the national team who are enrolled for studies at the college. Players she hope will revive the Fourah Bay College Cricket Club.
“We already have several players from the U-19 category who are already doing some courses here at Fourah Bay College. So for the male category that makes it a bit easier,” she said.
Bull said the challenge is to get women, but it’s a challenge she is sure to overcome.
“As for women, there are plans for us to put out notice for members who are interested to come on board and beef up the Fourah Bay College Cricket Club. So by next week we would have had a lot of members especially women,” Bull said.
“It’s a bit hard but it is something that is achievable. We will take the necessary strides,” she added.
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