By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Twenty-six teams are bracing up to compete for four spots in next season’s premier league. A press statement from the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has confirmed that the preliminary qualifiers of the playoff will start on Tuesday, 21st January.
16 teams were submitted from the East, West and Southern regions of the country from which four have been seeded as automatic qualifiers for the final phase of the playoff which will start on the 25th January.
The four teams which were seeded are: Sierra Leone Police FC, Nongowa FC, Mount Aureole SLIFA-FC and Edmund Michael Foundation FC.
Other teams that were not seeded for the final phase of qualification included Luawa FC, Sky Eagles, Kissy All Stars, Yambatui Stars and many more.
In the North and the North-West regions of the country, a total of 10 teams had already qualified for the final phase of playoffs in that region - five from each region.
The ten teams in the North and the North West will compete for two spots, whiles the 16 teams in the East, West and South will compete for the remaining two spots.
The decision to add four more teams to the league was reached by the members of the SLFA in December last year at Congress.
Fixtures for the matches have already been announced. On Tuesday, six games will be played across the country; two in Freetown, one in Bo. Kenema, Boidu and Rutile will also host one game each.
Playoff fixtures
Luwa FC Vs Estate Contractors – Tuesday 21st January, 2019
Kissi All Stars Vs Real Mack FC – Tuesday 21st January, 2019
Nipean Stars Vs Wanjama Stars – Tuesday 21st January, 2019
Rutile Stars Vs Yambtui Stars – Tuesday 21st January, 2019
Togbony City Vs Tongi - Tuesday 21st January, 2019
Kahunla Stars Vs Sky Eagles - 21st January, 2019
On Wednesday, 23rd January will be the return leg of all these fixtures.
The six winners from these games will join, Sierra Leone Police FC, Nongowa FC, Mount Aureole SLIFA, Edmund Micheal Foundation who have been automatically seeded in Group A and B.
The winner of each group will qualify automatically qualify for the 2020/2021 Sierra Leone Premier League season.
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