By Kemoh Sesay
Football fans have been discussing the prospects of the senior national side, Leone Stars qualifying for CAF 2017 in Gabon after they were draw in a group with defending champions Ivory coast and rising football nation, Gabon who qualify automatically as host and Sudan.
The deputy minister of sports Ishmael Al- Sankoh Conteh described the draw as "a competitive one which will require a lot of commitment from every football fan in the country. The ministry will provide the necessary funding because the national is the property of the country."
A senior SLFA official who is in charge of competitions Sorie Ibrahim Sesay in charge of competitions said, "taking into consideration the past record with the teams are in that group, and that the qualifying matches will commence in June 2015 by which time we hope the Ebola outbreak would be over, we will be able to play our home matches in our own turf which will be an advantage for us as a nation."
He said SLFA will put all modalities in place to see that the team qualify to the finals in Gabon.
Former Real Republicans footballer Musa Bangura told Politico that the "present state of football in this country is depressing. There is no league in progress because of the Ebola outbreak and the struggle between the SLFA and the Sports ministry which is getting very serious."
Bangura said "I would love to see the national squad progress to the finals of every AFCON tournament but the disunity amongst stakeholders is sending a negative signal to the players...they cannot give their best for the country under such conditions."
Alusine Bo School Sesay who played for premier league clubs describe the draw as "a tough one for the national team but with proper preparations Sierra Leone can make it to the finals, that's only if the SLFA and the Sports ministry are on good terms."
A diehard Leone Stars fan, Ibrahim Kanu told Politico that "the possibility of the national team qualifying from their group hangs on a thin thread unless they had a drastic change of attitude in football administration...all stakeholders should work with each other, accept their faults and forget about the past and think about the development of the game."
© Politico 10/04/15
