By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has said they will go ahead with plans to hold three separate congresses despite criticisms from some members of its members.
“FIFA has set the road map and we have an obligation to go strictly by that, we cannot boycott that and do something else. It will be like disregarding what is in the road map. So we have no option but by all means to hold all the congresses,” Head of Media at the SLFA, Ibrahim Kamara, told Politico in an interview on Tuesday.
Kamara’s comment comes less than two weeks to the first of the three planned congresses. The first is scheduled to be held on the 6th and 7th December in Port Loko. Another one will be held in February and the third one is set to be held in April. The venues for the second and third congresses have not been disclosed.
The three congresses have been spread across a six months’ time frame. The arrangement of the timeline itself provoked condemnation from a section of the FA’s membership who believe that the Isha Johansen administration is just buying more time.
Critics of Johansen have in the past raised concerns over the necessity of holding three congresses. The executive has not held a successful congress since it came into office in 2013.
They have attempted twice; one was botched and the other was nullified.
Alhaji Komba is the Secretary General FC Kallon. He has been a vocal critic of the Johansen’s football administration in the country.
He told Politico that the FA is not following the road map as they are claiming.
“If they are adamant that we should have three congresses, then there are inconsistencies with how they are applying the processes leading up to the congresses,” Komba said.
He added: “If they say they are going strictly by the road map, then the road map suggests that the very first congress that will be held should be an extra ordinary congress. But they have changed it to be ordinary congress. And if it is ordinary congress, the agenda for ordinary congress is clearly discussed in the SLFA statutes, Article 27.”
But Kamara said the focus of this first congress is to adopt amended aspects of the FA’s statutes in line with the FIFA standards.
“There is a new FIFA code of ethics that we have the obligation as members of the FA to adopt in the SLFA statute. So basically, that is what this congress is meant for,” he said.
The new code of ethics is expected to have clear guidelines on match fixing. The code may also include the much talked about integrity checks. However, as good as these may sound for football in the country, Komba said they as members have not been given access to the reviewed document before the congress.
“They said they are going to adopt the reviewed SLFA statute. As we sit here we haven’t had access to this new document. They said they did the review with FIFA but how will you review SLFA statute with FIFA without involving us, the members of the FA?” Komba posited.
“It is unfair and wrong,” he added.
Despite his concerns, Komba said he and many other members will certainly attend the congresses considering their importance.
But his points and the FA’s stance suggest that a congress which is meant to set things right in football could end up plaguing the game more than before.
And the new code is sure to be at the center of whatever disagreement emerges.
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