By Alpha Abu
Sierra Leone football has suffered another setback after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Saturday 27 February 2021, banning the use of the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown for international matches including the pending African Cup of Nations home tie against Benin.
According to sources, the continent’s football governing body took the action against Sierra Leone due to the poor state of facilities at the stadium which has been the main venue for all senior level international matches since the structure was constructed in 1979. CAF was said to have questioned the surface of the pitch as not level and lacking green. Criticisms were also directed at the poor facilities in the changing rooms, the inferior nature of the substitute benches and the lack of a separate well-resourced Media Centre. CAF had also complained that the Conference hall should be having fixed chairs and not the common plastic ones present.
Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Director of Competition, Sorie Ibrahim Sesay told Politico that all the relevant parties are in contact and finding ways to address the problem which he said should have the full involvement of the government. He said there should be a halt to use of the stadium for musical shows and other festivities which contribute to the deteriorating state of the sports infrastructure.
The Deputy Executive Director of the National Sports Authority (NSA) and head of Technical Programmes, Dr. Abdul Rahman Swarray, explained to Politico that they as a body will summon SLFA for details on the CAF ban and from which the Authority will position itself to engage government on “how to remedy the situation”.
On the matches to be affected by the ban Dr. Swarray noted: “What we have decided to do is to monitor the situation and see whether we have an option now available to us to look for a third country where we can play our remaining matches”.
He said the NSA was not yet privy to the circumstances that prompted the ban but claimed having travelled to many other countries in the continent, he had seen pitches that were worse than the one at the Siaka Stevens Stadium. He said he was surprised though considering the usual protocol by CAF of always sending an advance party to a host country’s stadium, to assess compliance procedures before the commencement of football matches. Dr. Swarray said they would not rush into any conclusion as clarifications would have to be made by the SLFA that the Authority will now contact.
CAF had given the SLFA up to the 4th March, 2021 for an alternative venue that the country could use to play her remaining matches. The national team Leone stars are to travel to Lesotho for their African Cup of nations qualifying match on the 27th March 2021. Sierra Leone would have hosted Benin in Freetown for the same competition , three days later on the 30th March 2021.
The government has contracted the Chinese for a $40M expansive rehabilitation of the stadium that is expected to start in April this year.
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