By Kemoh Sesay
The much talked-about Amputee Football Gala scheduled for today has been called off by the sponsor, the mobile phone operator, Airtel.
Addressing a news conference at their headquarters on Wednesday 6thNovember, the company's Cooperate Affairs Manager June-Rose Johnson said they decided to call off the competition because they were unable to get other partners to support the event.
She said as a company they decided to use the money they earmarked for the gala to purchase air tickets for the players to travel to Kenya to take part in the competition. Johnson said they are "in constant communication with the manager of Kenya Airways and it is very much positive".
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Amputees Albert Manley Mustapha they are "very much happy for Airtel for the fact that the team is able to fly to Kenya to represent Sierra Leone despite the gala competition being called off".
He said Amputee clubs will continue to train hard as senior technical members of the association will select players based on their performance to be part of the team for the Kenya competition.
© Politico 07/11/13
