By Alpha Abu
2022 is far spent and drawing to a close, with 2023 already around, about to be ushered in. As we look forward to the New Year, there were some moments of Sports worth mentioning, or should I say reliving, in 2022, depending on the spectacle that was played out!
Undoubtedly the most popular sporting discipline in Sierra Leone and the world over, football continues its slow rebirth after torturous years of unprecedented intrigue, infighting and shenanigans that got played out by those considered administrators of the game.
The country’s men’s national football team Leone Stars made a remarkable return to continental limelight by qualifying for the African Nations Cup tournament, after 26 years. The team crashed out in the group stage of the tourney early this year in Cameroon but somehow gave fans back home something worth watching at least on a bigger stage. And for once Sierra Leoneans closed ranks as a nation, putting aside all pettiness and their often frosty political bickering, to throw their support behind Leone Stars.
The fallout from the tourney though was when a bunch of irate youngsters threatened to attack the home of veteran MLS footballer Kei Kamara ostensibly for missing a crucial penalty. Police had to cordon off Kamara’s property to ward off potential arsonists or looters.
The last quarter of 2022 also saw the introduction for the first time the women’s football premier league with Kenema’s Kahunla Queens and Mena Queens of Makeni featuring in the first match that Kahunla won by a solitary goal.
Again in 2022 there was quite a bit of drama around mercurial footballer Musa Noah Koroma better known as ‘Musa Tombo’. No doubt a player gifted with canon shots, eye for goal and physique, he is today the most recognizable footballer in the country. Sadly the spectres of tragedy continue to haunt the player. From Tombo’s rantings on a team bus to his outrageous reneging on foreign club contracts, and pitiful videos of the player, all depict a figure fighting battles within. There were even reports of efforts recently by authorities to get him some real help beyond the physical niceties he has enjoyed from his benefactors.
He was seen literally crying when his local club Bo Rangers that had cancelled his contract, were drawing in a recent league match at home. You don’t need to be a therapist to know that Tombo needed much more than cosmetic help, that’s the bottom line!
2023 is going to be another moment for Leone Stars to try successive qualification for AfCon which is to be hosted by Ivory Coast.
Leone Stars will commence their race for a ticket to the next AfCon to be held in Cote d’Ivoire in 2023 against Nigeria followed by two home matches against Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome.
Coach John Keister did quite a job to take the team to Cameroon but his tactics and handling of the side remain questionable. He should try to end his romance with some of the old players who have very little now to offer, and get youngsters within and out of Sierra Leone more involved as the future of Leone Stars.
He has an even greater challenge to convince many in 2023 that he will introduce a more cohesive, attacking style of play to win hearts and minds, and fend off attempts at his job.
Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President Thomas Daddy Brima we all know was the dark horse in the election for the presidency. And he won, to the surprise of many.
There were remote rumours that attempts were made twice to have him impeached after some members of the FA’s Executive Committee complained him to football world governing body, FIFA. Brima would have to assuage any form of discontent within his Executive Committee which is largely drawn from the support base of former FA President Isha Johansen and football Stakeholder Rodney Michael, individuals who are known to wield considerable influence.
Brima is naturally an extrovert and with his affable mannerisms he could continue to steer the ship unhindered. But again all will depend on how he handles disagreeable moments he might encounter in 2023.
Many will expect the over $40 million extensive rehabilitation of the Siaka Stevens Stadium which began early this year will gather pace and be almost completed by the end of 2023, with the planned facelift of not just the football field and stands but also upgrading of boxing, basketball and swimming facilities .
Prince Vandy Sualley is now the new President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Sierra Leone. He succeeds the long-serving President, Dr. Patrick Coker. The country has never won a medal at major tourneys such as the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games. Sualley is expected to start planning and getting athletes ready for the 33rd Olympics to take place in Paris in the summer of 2024.We hope his leadership will try to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing spectacle in which an overweight Judoka Frederick Harris was disqualified at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Cricketers are expected to continue improving at the international stage in the New Year. However I hope the public will be spared off the pitch drama as what unfolded this December at the Freetown international Airport at Lungi. The team returning from the Africa regional Group B qualifier of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup in Kigali made claims of being abandoned and coerced to pay $25 charges at the airport before being allowed through, a claim the cricket association was quick to denounce in a statement, citing the support it said to have received from the government, and apologizing profusely. Let’s hope for the best in Sports in 2023!
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (23/12/22)
