By Alpha Abu
The home based Leone Stars team last evening flew out for their two-legged tie against Cape Verde in Morocco as they attempt to book a place in TotalEnergies CHAN tournament to be hosted by Algeria in January 2023.
The first leg will be played on Sunday 24th July, with the second match a week later. The overall winners will then play Mali for a place in the tournament organised by CAF for African players plying their trade in the continent.
The affable team Manager of the home side, Alhaji Umar Bah sounding quite upbeat explained to Politico how the camp was buzzing with excitement and confidence as the boys were getting ready to board their flight for the North African country.
He said the team played eleven home friendlies in preparation and won ten. They drew 1-1 in the other match against Premier League Champions Bo Rangers.
The Manager spoke highly about the players’ level of compliance and discipline whilst they were in camp, and said preparations went on smoothly.
Bah also spoke about the visit to the team’s Kenema training camp by the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President Thomas Daddy Brima and his two deputies, which he said also bolstered the morale of the players.
He said he liked what he saw during the friendly matches and spoke of being impressed with Coach Zappa’s launching of “Operation Qualify’’, that shows the collective team spirit and the determination of all to make the country proud.
He thanked the government and SLFA for the support given to the team and called on fans back home to pray for the team’s success.
On a sour note, he admitted how they tried without success to get mercurial striker Musa Noah Kamara ’’Tombo” on board up to the last minute. He said the player never honoured several meetings arranged.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (20/07/22)
