By Lamin Idriss Conteh (Cazorla)
Recently declared aspirant for the Sierra Leone Football Association Presidency, Rodney Edmond Michael, has donated Twenty-million Leones to the Bo District Football Association (BoDFA) for the rehabilitation of the Bo Coronation Field.
The presentation was done by the deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Edmond Michael Foundation, Hassan Bangura, to the acting Chairman of the Southern Region Football Association, Sadick Deen Nyakoh on Saturday.
“When we went to Bo, it happened that it was the very day Johannsen and her team were to turn the sod for the construction of the Bo coronation field. We then realized that the amount Johannsen pledged for the project was very small, so we had to step in and donate the sum of twenty-million Leones to BoDFA,” Bangura told Politico.
He went further to say: “We did it out of our own free-will and nobody compelled us to do so.” He added that no letter was sent to them by BoDFA requesting for financial help.
When asked how he feels about the donation, the acting Chairman of the Southern Football Association, Nyakoh, told Politico “We feel good because we have been struggling to get people on board who can come to our aid. We appreciate the kind gesture of Rodney Michael and his team; we believe he is a man who is always in the position to help. We have written a lot of letters to government and non-governmental organizations requesting for help, others promised to help us after the end of the year. The donation of Michael will go a long way in the rehabilitation of the coronation ground’’, he acknowledged.
Speaking to Politico from Bo, the acting Chairman of the Bo District Football Association, Alimamy Sartie said: “We feel excited about the donation we received from Michael. He is not only a son of the soil, but he is a man who is always in the position to help as long as it is for the development of the soccer game,” he noted.
Sartie also spoke about efforts by them to attract support for the field but which have been unsuccessful. He said Michael was the first person to help them with such an amount of money in changing the face of the field. The ground is currently undergoing levelling and expansion, and is expected to be completed within the shortest possible time.
Rodney Michael is an established business consultant, football stakeholder and philanthropist.
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