By Mohamed Foday Conteh & Alpha Abu
Sierra Leone’s national football team, Leone Stars are meeting the Squirrels of Benin in the Guinean capital, Conakry today Monday 14 June 2021 to determine which of the two countries will make it to the AfCON tournament in Cameroon next year.
Sierra Leone is hoping for a third appearance since 1996 in South Africa while their opponents are expecting a fifth appearance if they could manage a draw. Leone Stars have to win by a two goal margin to make it through.
Benin is considered a weaker side in AfCON although they have been regulars in recent years. They only managed to make it past the group stage in the last competition hosted in Egypt.
Sierra Leone has also never crossed the group stage of the competition in both appearances in 1994 and 1996. It is against this backdrop that President Julius Maada Bio before the aborted game in Freetown, pledged to give each player $10,000 and a plot of land should they qualify.
Although preparations for the match in Conakry had been in full swing, reports from various social media platforms on Saturday 12th June 2021 indicated that Leone Stars were left stranded for over 4 hours at the Guinean border, after NaCOVERC failed to turn in their COVID 19 test results in time. The players and officials had left Freetown at around 3am that Saturday and arrived at the border at around 7am but were refused entry after Guinean authorities requested their COVID-19 test certificates. Reports have confirmed the team eventually arrived in Conakry at around 10 pm the same day.
The match was rescheduled from its original date after COVID-19 test results conducted by health authorities in Sierra Leone turned out positive for 5 Beninese players including star player and former Huddersfield FC striker Steve Mounier and Captain Khalid Adenon. Beninese officials had disputed the results, saying they were premeditated and that their players had tested negative prior their arrival in Freetown. They refused to play and boarded their special plane and returned to Cotonou. And after football authorities in the two countries filed protest letters to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s football ruling body dismissed most of their claims and ordered the match be played at a separate venue.
Meanwhile, an earlier request by the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) for a 30 percent capacity of fans be allowed to watch the match in Conakry, was rejected by CAF on Saturday who ordered that it be played behind closed doors.
Sierra Leone Premier League (SLPL) matches of FC Kallon vs East End Lions and Diamond Stars vs Kamboi Eagles all scheduled for Sunday 13th June 2021 were postponed in order for fans and officials to focus on the AfCON match in Conakry.
The government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Finance has provided over 6 billion Leones to the National Sports Authority (NSA) for the game. A $2,000 stipend will be given to each player.
Sierra Leone will be playing without East End Lions Captain Yemi Dunia due to an injury he sustained while representing his club. Sierra Leone Premier League (SLPL) player of the month, Musa Noah Kamara fondly called Musa Tombo was surprisingly dropped for the match but recalled together with Wusum Stars player Saidu Mansay alias Malian on Saturday, after a couple of players in the travelling contingent were diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Many fans had earlier taken to social media to wage a campaign for the reinstatement of Musa Tombo who they believed is the most in-form striker at present playing in the country. Coach John Keister came in for scathing criticisms for initially leaving out the gifted but mercurial player.
Meanwhile Sullay Borbor KaiKai, a player for newly promoted England championship side Blackpool has been called for the first time to play for Leone Stars. KaiKai who was born in the UK and has a Sierra Leonean father, has reportedly scored seven goals and provided eight assistance in the last League One campaign. He won the goal of the month award by Sky Bet League One in his side’s clash against Sunderland. Veteran players, Kei Kamara, Mohamed Kamara (Medo Partizan) and Captain Umaru Bangura (Zaingaylay) including Iceland based Kwame Quee, are all included in the team for the anticipated clash. An enthusiastic Sierra Leonean audience will be following the match through live radio and television broadcasts.
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