By Mohamed Foday Conteh
The National Coronavirus Response Centre (NaCOVERC) and Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) have launched a Covid 19 vaccination campaign for players and officials of football clubs that will commence tomorrow 31st August, 2021.
The said vaccination drive, according to the joint communique between the two bodies, will commence at the Siaka Stevens Stadium’s Presidential Stand. It will also be extended to the Provinces at designated venues.
Players and officials of teams in the premier league, divisions one and two, and female footballers are to be vaccinated. The campaign will start at 9 in the morning and will run to 4 in the evening covering a period of one week.
The SLFA and NaCOVERC have also proposed that all spectators would have to be vaccinated before entering sport venues when leagues resume. This development comes as the two bodies are of the realisation that majority of teams highly depend on gate takings for revenues in running their affairs.
However, authorities have noticed that the campaign would be challenging because some people are hesitant to take the vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) together with NaCOVERC and SLFA have decided to mount a ‘sustained education and community mobilisation’ to ensure that the campaign is successful.
The communiqué said the various institutions are looking forward to football stakeholders to lead the drive in the said campaign by positioning themselves as role-models as leagues are set to resume this September.
The Sierra Leone Premier, one of Africa’s most watched football competition (according to the SLFA), was suspended when the nation witnessed a rise in COVID-19 cases that was precipitated by the Delta variant.
Before the suspension, Bo Rangers was leading the table with 18 points after nine games played. Wusum Stars sits in second position with 17 points after nine games. Defending champions, East End Lions rests in fourth position with 15 points with just 8 games played. Fans had long anticipated the return of the Premier League as a conduit for the preparation for the African Cup of Nations (AfCON) that will take place in Cameroon next January.
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