By Alpha Abu
Babadi Kamara is already a household name in sporting circles in Sierra Leone. His intervention in football in particular has somewhat given the game more meaning here, having brought class and foresight into it by embarking on ambitious projects more than any present day football stakeholder in the country.
Already having established himself as a businessman before his engagement with the sport, he brought along those innovative ideas of an entrepreneur, which in no time turned the entire image and fortune of Bo Rangers football club which was before then, an unattractive proposition for ambitious footballers.
That the name Babadi resonates with football grandeur these days cannot be over emphasised. He has singlehandedly transformed a once unfancied Bo Rangers football club into an attractive outfit that many a player would dream of playing for.
As defending champions, having won their first league title, today Rangers is a brand name in football circles, and there are telling reasons for such uplift; there is a well- furnished club house in the club’s hometown of Bo. Rangers’ players are relatively well-cared for and there is a structured management in place.
But it was Babadi’s ambitious venture to construct a modern stadium named Southern Arena that has captured the imagination of the football family within and out of the country.
The magnificent –looking structure was recently inspected by a Netherlands-based Company contracted by FIFA, to see if its turf met standards set by the world football governing body.
The company Kiwa ISA Sport B.V checked the pitch’s drainage system, its shock absorption capability and the goal posts. Also the dimension of the field was inspected. Following the inspection, the Dutch company gave the Southern Arena pitch a clean bill of health.
What remains now to be checked are the off- pitch sections within the stadium-the rooms for players, referees, match commissioners and ball boys. Also to be inspected is the anti-doping facility at the Southern Arena.
According to Babadi, all the things needed for these rooms would have been shipped in by the 6th April this year, to complete the interior furnishing of the stadium, after which FIFA will again give directives for the next inspection before the entire stadium is certified. SLFA will first have to do their inspection of the stadium before FIFA and CAF come for the final round of assessment.
After the certification, the Southern Arena would be able to host international matches, which would be quite a boost for fans of the game, as they are being starved of watching their darling Leone Stars in the country because of the extensive renovation taking place on the country’s Siaka Stevens Stadium. The national stadium was an eyesore and a national embarrassment, so it didn’t come as a surprise to see CAF disapproving its use for international matches.
For the first time, the country will have an alternative to the Siaka Stevens Stadium in terms of hosting international matches, which will provide a decent and congenial environment for a game of football.
The Arena will certainly be a pride for many Sierra Leoneans who feel that state authorities all through the years have always concentrated everything in the capital Freetown. Now the saying “Freetown is not Sierra Leone”, has been amply demonstrated by establishing such a beautiful piece away from the capital, thanks to the dynamism of the man Babadi.
It will be such an uplifting moment to have Rangers or other clubs hosting in Bo top clubs in Africa such as South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs, Nigeria’s Enyimba or DR Congo’s TP Mazembe in a facility that will no doubt attract the respect of visiting teams.
Having such an infrastructure could be a gravitating point for young people in that part of the country interested in trying their skills in the sport to be even more inspired and hoping to live the dream of one day donning the jersey of Rangers.
That now brings up the issue of Babadi’s present policy of recruiting players who are seen as finished product locally. He’s made Bo Rangers a player’s prized destination, no one will doubt that but he should start looking beyond the immediate future.
That means he should be seriously thinking about scouting and nurturing raw talents from local school league football, and building up a future Rangers with boys who will grow up with the team’s philosophy, tradition and hunger for success.
Footballers like the gifted Max Macauley (late) and Alie Ngayenga were teenage prodigies recruited by Blackpool from schools in Bo, who would in no time get rave reviews becoming huge fan favourites in the country’s national team.
Babadi can do same and could be assured of a future of enduring success by a crop of players who will be so fired up to fight for the shirt and what the club stood for because it is their hometown club.
.I am not saying players from other parts of the country cannot be recruited but for success in the future, Babadi should make a try on those home-grown young talents, not just in Bo town but also other surrounding rural settlements in the district and the process should start sooner than later. Gems are hardly found on the surface!
I am not saying players from other parts of the country cannot be recruited but for success in the future, Babadi should make a try on those home-grown young talents, not just in Bo town but also other surrounding rural settlements in the district and the process should start sooner than later. Gems are hardly found on the surface!
I don’t want to be misconstrued; the present crop of players are doing their very best and have given Bo Rangers the first league title, but Babadi and his management should not be shy of putting in motion long- term plans for a future of sustained success.
It is no denying the fact that Sierra Leone’s revived football landscape has seen clubs courting players and spending big, despite the harsh global economic challenges. Iconic club names like East End Lions, Mighty Blackpool are now facing intense competition from the likes of FC Kallon, Bo Rangers and FC Johansen in all aspects of the game. These New Kids on the block have attracted many young people, and personalities behind these clubs have been making them even more attractive by getting the best players. It is going to be very competitive.
On the whole Babadi has demonstrated visionary attributes that he should work on solidifying. The team can now boast of real infrastructure, and putting in place a well –structured system to go along, will serve as the bedrock of a project that will create livelihood for boys and their families, an initiative that will outlive him as benefactor and which will be a source of livelihood and pure delight for generations to come.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (14/04/23)
