Sports

Riyad Mahrez has won the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) award as the best player in the English league. He was voted for by fellow professional players in the Premier League.

He beats last year’s winner Harry Kane and team mates Jamie Vardy and Ngolo Kante to win the award.

The PFA is an organization of professional players in the Barclays Premier League in England. Every season it votes for players to be awarded in different categories for their efforts during the season.

Preparations for the Sierra Leone Boxing Association (SLBA)’s 69-kilo heavy weight competition are on high geared ahead of the D Day on April 22.

The competition is pitting Daniel Lasayo from the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) Boxing Team and Abubakarr Katta from the Sierra Leone Police force (SLP) Boxing Team. It is slated for the National stadium Lawn Tennis Arena.

Both boxers have been tagged the country’s best for the past two years.

Following their 2-0 win against the Shooting Stars of Sierra Leone in northern town of Makeni last Saturday, the head coach of Gambia’s Under-20 side has said they were more determined to win the return leg in their home country.

Omar K. Sise said they won because they were well prepared and determined to get good a result.

“We were more determined for the match that; is the reason for our victory. We fought hard from the start for our victory. We’re going home to prepare for the return leg.” Sise told press men immediately after the match in Makeni.

The Male National Cricket team of Sierra Leone is expected to leave Freetown on April 7 to take part in the International Cricket Council (ICC)/Africa Cricket Association (ACA) Division 2 League in South Africa.

The tournament is expected to commence on April 16.

Cyril Panda, National Cricket Coach, said Preparation had started few months back with a premier league and super league which were organized by the technical team of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association (SLCA).

By Kemoh Sesay 

A group of Grassroots football coaches and referees are presently undergoing an intensive “premier skills” training course at the Sierra Leone football Academy in Kingtom.

The course is jointly organized by the British Council, Sierra Leone Football Association, Craig Bellamy Foundation and Restless Development. The six days training started on the 14, with 72participants drawn from both Freetown and the provincial towns.

By Kemoh Sesay

Some football stakeholders have expressed delight over the removal of Paul Kamara as sports minister in the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Earnest Bai Koroma.

These stakeholders believe that newly appointed Minister, Ahmed Khanou, has the capacity to change the status-quo that has surrounded the game for some time now.

By Kemoh Sesay

The Caretaker Coach of EE Lions Football Club Raymond Lewis, Aka Mourinoh, has expressed dismay over his player’s performance in a 1-1 draw with their arch rivals Mighty Black Pool Football Club over the weekend.

The match was part of the ongoing Premier League organized by the Awoko faction of the SLFA ((SLFA-A) at the national Stadium.

Lewis attributed that poor performance to the lack of regular training by his players, noting that since he took over as caretaker coach of the club this had been the problem of the players.