By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The FA Cup competition is set to recommence on the 24th January, 2024 after it was halted last season.
SLFA Competitions Officer, Abdul Karim Kabba in one of his media interviews said the start will see two relegated teams Kamboi Eagles and FC Johansen battle it out at the Kenema field.
Kabba noted that the round of 32 starts 31st January, 2024 where Waterloo FC will engage Bo Rangers FC at the Bassa Town field.
He stated that SLFA President Thomas Daddy Brima made a commitment that all levels of football should take place. He said that the competition is meant for all the clubs in the regions.
Kabba said the teams to play the preliminary stage of the competition are FC Johanssen, Kamboi Eagles, East End Tigers, Bhantal FC, Kahunla and Kholifa Stars. He said the 6 representatives in the preliminary round comprise of the 3 newly promoted teams and the 3 relegated teams from the premier league.
He explained that since the relegated teams were part of the start of the F.A Cup, they cannot punish them due to their lower tier position as it is a continuation from the previous season. He said that out of the 6 teams, 3 will be eliminated and 3 will join the 29 teams into the round of 32. He confirmed that the competition is a one-off match.
He pointed out that 15 out of the 18 premier league clubs will gain automatic promotion, except for the newly promoted teams.
Kabba affirmed that the winner of the competition will take part in the CAF Confederations Cup this year. He said the FA Cup will bring changes in the country’s clubs’ participation in CAF Competitions as the FA Cup winner will now represent the country instead of the League’s runner-up as it used to be in the previous seasons.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (18/01/24)
