By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
The Sierra Leone National Men’s Football Team “Leone Stars” together with other officials of the Sierra Leone Football Association-(SLFA) plus representatives of the Ministry of Sports and other government officials are in Dubai for doubtful friendly matches, the National Sports Authority has announced on Tuesday.
According to the NSA announcement, the Leone Stars team plus other members of the delegation has since touched base “in Fujairah, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for a week long training camp as part of their endless preparations for the Ivory Coast 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.”
NSA further announced that “the team is being lodged at the Concorde Five Stars Hotel and Resort in the city of Fujairah and will engage in friendly matches but that the Leone Stars proposed match for Wednesday, 16th November, 2022 has been annulled due to administrative and technical challenges beyond the control of agent.
"The Sierra Leone - Algeria Team-B (CHAN) match scheduled for Saturday, 19th November, 2022 will be held as planned, with possibility for a second match in which will be communicated in due course,” NSA stated in a release.
This announcement from the National Sports Authority is coming after a highly powered Sierra Leone delegation clandestinely left the shores of Freetown for two friendly matches to be played in Dubai.
The sporting family in Sierra Leone and the country’s bulk of its citizens were left in total dark after both the local football Association-(SLFA) and the National Sports Authority had completely gone silent regarding the team’s oversea trip except when the overseas based players that were invited for the clandestinely organized friendly matches now turned into training camps started announcing their players call up for National duty.
For days now, there has been public outcry over what they say is “deceitful, dishonest, corrupt and unpatriotic show” by the officials in charge of running the affairs of the nation’s football activities including the senior National Men’s team.
Amid the wide outcry, SLFA has completed resolved to remain tight-lipped but the NSA has in the last 24 came out to the public to confirm that the Leone Stars delegations in Dubai consists of “24 players, 13 technical staff, 6 government officials and unknown number of other representatives of the Sierra Leone Football Association with the Team Manager, the NSA Executive Director, SLFA President and one player reported absent from the trip.”
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