By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Some members of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) have threatened to withdraw their teams from the premier league following the outcome of the extra ordinary congress of the association.
In a press release that was published on Saturday evening, following the abrupt end of the meeting in Kenema, they said: “We demand an immediate intervention by the Government of Sierra Leone and FIFA or else we reserve the options of withdrawing all our clubs from the participation and any other legal option available including, but not limited to Court of Arbitration for Sports.”
On Saturday evening the congress was at stalemate because members couldn’t agree on whether to agree on names of nominees for the Electoral and Appeals Committees.
Whiles one faction was arguing that nominations be opened for alternative names, another faction were arguing in favor of adopting the names already presented by the FA.
If the members go ahead with their plan to withdraw their teams, at least five teams could end up dropping - Old Edwardians Football Club, FC Kallon, Central Parade FC, East End Tigers and Anti-Drugs. Teams like Freetown City Council, Ports Authority and Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces FC might also follow, if their institutions allow them to.
Head of Media and Marketing at the FA, Ibrahim Kamara, told Politico that the members who made this decision were “unnecessarily aggrieved”.
“The members who made these decisions are unnecessarily aggrieved. The reason why am saying this is because you don’t always have to get things to go in your own way. Even in Parliament, when MPs vote, everyone is not on the same side but you don’t have an option because this is what the majority wants,” Kamara said.
Kamara’s reference to majority was about the “votes” that delegates had to adopt the names of people in the Electoral and Appeals committees.
The agrieved members say no vote was called on the issue. The media was barred from covering the second half of the congress where all these controversies unfolded.
This will not be the first time teams will have boycotted the league due to concerns about football governance in the country. The Sierra Leone Premier League was halted for four and half years largely because of similar tussles.
Last year the Government of Sierra Leone invested Le3.5 billion to restart the league. This season’s league started in December last year and teams have already played eight games.
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