By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Fourteen teams have started playing in this season’s Division One league in Kenema District. The league which is organized by the Kenema District Football Association (KDFA) will see the winners and runners up compete for a premier league spot next season.
On Friday, defending champions, Kenema FC Kallon defeated Rendezvous Academy 1-0 in Kenema city. In Tongo, Lower Bambara Gem United FC drew 0-0 with Francess FC.
The Secretary General of the KDFA, David Samu, told Politico: “We have a lot of teams who really want to do well and play the Premier League. 14 teams will be playing and they will be playing in two venues (Kenema and Tongo).”
“We have made it clear to them that anyone who wins the league will be recommended to the ERFA (Eastern Region Football Association) and SLFA (Sierra Leone Football Association) for the national playoffs,” Samu added.
The starting of the league coincided with the arrival of football stakeholders in the district for the FA congress.
However, this competition is playing even when last season’s winners and runners up haven’t played in the national playoffs yet. In a meeting last December, football stakeholders agreed on expanding the league to 18 teams.
The agreement meant that a case in the high court which won an injunction against the Northern region playoffs was supposed to be withdrawn by the plaintiffs. And then a national playoffs would have commenced in its place.
Fixtures were drawn two weeks ago but the playoffs are yet to start, because the case has not been withdrawn.
Kenema FC Kallon (KFCK) and Kahunla Queens are the representatives of Kenema in the playoffs.
For KFCK, this means they are playing in this year’s Division One competition with one eye on the playoffs.
The coach of KFCK, Lukulay Sheku, said the current situation of the team came with a dilemma and a stiff challenge. But Sheku said they would relish the challenge and perform well.
“That is why they told us to register 30 players. The Division One league we have started will help the team more, because after training we will play in competitive games and this will help us stay fit,” he told Politico after the match.
“The playoff is the most paramount thing right now, but I am not taking the league easy anyway, because this league is what has taken us in to the playoffs in the first place,” Lukulay added.
Coach of Rendezvous Academy, Amidu Bah, said he was encouraged by his team’s performance despite their loss.
“We are ok with our performance. This is a competition and we believe we will qualify. Of course we have seen where we will work on, one of it is that most of the players are young,” Bah said.
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