By Kemoh Sesay
The Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Lawn Tennis Association SLTA Yayah Koroma has said that they hope to be able to host a grand slam tournament in Freetown following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), formalising a lease agreement with the Hill Station Tennis Club for the use of the court for a period of 20 years.
This came following the visit to Freetown of the developmental director for West African countries, at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Amin Ben Makhlouf in 2011 during which he recommended that the court could be used to host such competitions.
Koroma said, "we made our proposal and produced survey plans to improve the amenities which will include four tennis courts and a multipurpose hall amongst others." He said the project will be funded by the ITF through the Grand Slam Developmental Fund.
The Secretary General told Politico that "over the past years it has been difficult to secure the court from the past executive of the Hill Station Club, but thanks to this new executive with the help of Mr. Pallo Conteh and other executive members who helped us lease the court."
He said the project will be undertaken on a long and short-term basis and that after its completion, the SLTA will host major tournaments.
© Politico 04/02/15
