AWE Media Sierra Leone

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Highly respected Moroccan coach Walid Regradui, 48, has expressed his disappointment over his team after they’re being knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 by South Africa on Tuesday. Beyond the expectations of many, the match which saw an enticingly competitive first half that ended goalless took a different turn in the 57th-minute forward Evidence Makgopa strike from the 18-yard box and slotted the ball into the right corner of the Atlas Lions igniting celebrations for the Bafana Bafana fans. The goal saw the Moroccan coach introducing new players to furnish his team’s attack adding pressure on the opponents until they won a penalty in the 83rd-minute when they were awarded a penalty after VAR review that found that the ball had hit the hand of Teboho Mokoena in the South African 18-yard box, but Morocco’s star man Achraf Hakimi thunderous strike from the penalty fly over the crossbar. After Hakimi failed to convert the penalty to a goa...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Unlike the seven other nations ready for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 quarterfinals, hosts Cote D’Ivoire are still celebrating their 5-4 post game penalty home triumph over defending champions Senegal at the Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro. It’s the first win for the hosts under their interim coach Emerse Fae, a former “Elephants” international following the termination of contracts for his former Boss Jean-Louis André Lucien Gasset and his first assistant coach Ghislain Marie Joseph Printant, due to insufficient results. It was indeed a historic comeback for the host who were earlier shocked by the defending champions in the fourth-minute when their youngster Habib Diallo hastily chested a pass from Sadio Mane, and slotted it home to put his country ahead. The defending champion’s early lead got the Ivoirians energized as they dominated ball possession and new manager Fae’s triple substitution ten minutes on to the end of the match pa...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Sierra Leone’s Mano River Union (MRU) neighbours Guinea on Sunday defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe to end its 48 years wait since they last won a direct elimination match at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The Guineans will remember the name of their 25-year-old forward Mohamed Bayo for scoring the vital goal in the last minutes of added time that was just enough for them to knockout their day’s opponent Equatorial, and progress to the quarterfinals of the on-going TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Côte D’Ivoire. Head coach Kaba Diwara of Guinea credited their win to the players commitment, describing it as “a great achievement by the current generation of Guinean footballers. This is the reward for hard work we’ve been doing before and during the AFCON,” he said. Despite being eliminated from the AFCON where his side was considered as top contenders after topping their group ahead of Nigeria and Cote D’...

By:Alusine Rehme Wilson Uprising Female Sierra Leonean Musician, Politician and Entrepreneur Natasha Beckley famous by her stage name as “Swadu” has publicized dates for her upcoming musical tours in Germany and France in March courtesy of Bright Fresh Entertainment. According to Natasha she will be performing live in two cities in Germany namely Essen and Munich on March 23 and 30, alongside famous Nigerian hype man, the Voltage of Hype (VoH), and 24 hours later will wrap up her music tour in France where another Nigerian musician “Gharam D Baba.” Without a doubt, the multifaceted Sierra Leonean Rap Artist whose Album has been titled Freetown’s Finest will be introducing songs from her album to the German and Paris audience where she is also expected to wave her country’s music flag higher.

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Wusum Stars Football Club of Makeni has uniquely put an end to their age long unhealthy football rivalry with Bo Rangers Football Club. This development has not only spotlight the power of sports, mainly football as a unifying tool but has also shown how hospitable and peaceful residents of Makeni could be as they joined hands with the Wusum Stars National Fan Base to “emotionally” welcome their Bo Rangers players, supporters and officials. Apart from the locals excitement to celebrate two of their sons of the soils from Makeni namely: Saidu “Malian” Mansaray and Suffian “Tormentor” Kalokoh who’ve been playing for Bo Rangers and did play crucial roles to the team’s remarkable history of winning the Sierra Leone Premier League back to back in the last two seasons, the people of Makeni dominated by Supporters of Wusum Stars, mounted ply cards with serial emotional messages symbolising peace, love and togetherness between them and Bo Rangers. It was the first...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson After a competitive show of soccer brilliance among 24 nations in 32 games, 16 teams consisting of the top two performers of each Group-A to F plus four best losers are set to continue their campaign in search for the 34th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) glory. With stakes being high, Alusine Rehme Wislon in this article detailed how the teams’ qualified, total goals scored, and what lies ahead. Interestingly, some AFCON regular suspects notably Algeria, Ghana and Tunisia were sent packing early after they failed to qualify form the group stage without registering any win. Algeria, Ghana and Tunisia respectively bowed to Mauritian, Cape Verde and Zambia 1-0, 2-1 and 1-0 while underrated teams like Equatorial Guinea and Cape Verde announced their presence as title competitors by topping their respective groups A and B with seven points each. The 32 group games produced a total of 89 goals with Equatorial Guinea(9), defending champions Senegal(8) and Cape Ve...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Six years after grabbing their first qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, Mauritania’s participation in the 34th edition of the continental race is proving to be remarkable as they stun 2019 holders Algeria to record their maiden AFCON win. A confident recovery from their successive defeats to Burkina Faso and Angola in their first two group games in the AFCON 2023 group stage, Mauritania defied all odds and defended their team’s badge by taking the lead in the 37th minute through Yali Dellahi’s deflected strike. However, Mauritania’s feat is credited to their solid team collaboration plus the goalkeeper Babacar Niasse’s bravery to stop dangerous shots from the Algerians that gifted them all three points to finish third in Group-D behind Burkina Faso (4) and Angola (7) grabbing also on the day their first time qualification to the round of 16 joining the likes of Guinea as Best losers. During the post-match interview, Mauritian’s Head...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The aftermath of poor outing of perceived hot favourites in the on-going Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) including eliminated 2019 champions Algeria, has hit the Black Stars of Ghana as its local federation commences immediate rebuilding of their national team coaching staff. On Tuesday, the Ghana Football Federation announced the sacking of their head coach Chris Hughton, 65, and the dissolution of his entire backroom staff, leaving the Black Stars without a coach at the moment after their early elimination at the 34th edition of the AFCON tournament. Although GFA did not clearly state the reason for its Executive Committee decision to dissolve the entire technical staff of its senior national men’s football team, “Black Stars,” many Ghanaians have welcomed the development which they say is not unconnected to their national team’s poor outing on Monday against perceived minnows Mozambique who claimed a point in a stunning 2-2 draw in their in Group-B. The ...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Exactly a month after his appointment as the first Technical Director of Mena Queens Football Club of Makeni, Alusine “Abega” Conteh has on Friday revealed the Makeni based female soccer outfit ambition in 2023/24 Sierra Leone Women’s Premier League (SLWPL). According to him, finishing this season’s league contest among the top three teams is top of their agenda. “Noting the numerous challenges we’re facing as a club primarily, the lack of community support and limited budget to accomplish some of our key activities including signing experienced players from other clubs nationally and internationally may deter us from claiming this season’s league cup,” he explained. The Technical Director also disclosed that he’s been stepping up for some matches as the team’s head coach, especially derby encounters for their remaining fixtures to further inspire both the players and the Mena Queens backroom staff to at least grab a point in their remaining matches. Direc...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Veteran skipper and forward Emiloo Nsue Lopez (34) of Equatorial Guinea made history on Thursday afternoon at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara netted the first AFCON hat-trick in sixteen years in his country’s 4-2 win over Guinea Bissau. The 34-year-old former Middlesbrough and Birmingham defender has now become the 18th player to score three goals in the continent’s flagship men’s tournament joining the likes of Ad-Diba who netted the first AFCON hat-trick in their 4-0 win over Ethiopia in the 1957 finals, United Arab Emirates’ Hassan El-Shazly in their 6-3 win over Nigeria in 1963, Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya in 1996 in their 4-0 win over Sierra Leone, Samuel Etoo in their 3-1 over Angola in 1996, Moroccan striker Soufinae Alloudi in 2008 against Namibia and the others. Although his third goal was initially ruled out, grace for a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) cross examination that saw referee Samuel Uwikunda made a u-turn and awarded the goal which spar...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson In collaboration with the Student Representative Council of the University of Makeni (UniMak), the Chief Executive Officer of Alifa Entertainment, Alie Zaghir has unveiled 10 female and male models to race for this year’s Mr. and Miss (UniMak) crowns at the Makeni city plaza on Sunday, January 21. The unveiling of the acts followed a successful audition held on January 14 and the final list of ten models consists of five male and five female contestants with “Queen-D”, the reigning Miss Makeni Model’s Union 2023 and rising male model “Celebrity Toss” respectively leading as the hottest female and male contenders for the crowns. The eight other models on the race for the NLe 50,000 (Fifty Thousand Star Prize) are: Claudia, Octiva, Kadi Blaq, Modeldia, King Teelux, Super Mos, Constitution and King Shero who are expected the hit the runway on Sunday night to end the long search of the most beautiful and charismatic female and male student of UniMak. By this y...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson  Joint security troops in Makeni city on Wednesday displayed a high sense of professionalism by positioning at strategic points in the northern regional city and its environs, a small group consisting of police and military officers in response to rumours about a proposed demonstration. Added to that an early warning from the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) in the northeast region through major local networks in Makeni plus the Minister of Information and Civic Education clarion call for peace as well as efforts by the media are credited for the absolute calm and normalcy maintained. Unlike past widespread social media rumours and incitements that sparked violent riots in Makeni notably the Generator saga, and the August 10 insurrection that claimed lives, the municipality of Makeni and its environs in recent times is showcasing its peaceful and law abiding tenants. Despite police and military men were stationed at strategic points and other patrolling in police ...

By: The journey of aspiring female broadcaster Dorcas Annie Koroma at the University of Makeni (UniMak) in the Mass Communications Department is an inspirational blend of academia and modeling. Known as "Queen D", Koroma has impressed her colleagues with her seamless combination of academic and modeling pursuits. She attributes her success to her commitment and dedication to both fields. Koroma's accomplishments in modeling have been noteworthy. In 2013, she won the Miss Murray Town contest, marking the beginning of her rise to prominence. She later achieved even greater success by winning the Miss Africa title in 2015 and, more recently, the Miss Makeni Model Union crown. Despite her achievements in the modeling world, Koroma remains focused on her academic journey. In a Tuesday evening interview with AWE-Media.SL, after her tour to the Fatima and Yoni campuses of UniMak, she revealed her “vision is to become one of Sierra Leone's finest female broadcasters u...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson By the growing momentum and unfolding episodes, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on-going in Cote d’Ivoire will go down as the most talked about continental contest ranging from its landmark opening to its thrilling opening matches among other things. Yet, the sports family globally will leave to remember Cameroon and Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana for his show of commitment to his national team, “the Indomitable Lions” as he hired a private jet from the Liverpool Airport to join his national teammates in camp at for the confidential race in the 2023 AFCON host nation Cote d’Ivoire. While it's rear for most African footballers to book a private jet to report for national team duty, Onana now leads the part to have made such history in recent times grace for former Sierra Leone International Kei Ansu Kamara who similarly enjoyed riding a private jet from his home country some 24 months ago courtesy of his former US club Minnesota United   who...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson In a remarkable demonstration of strong collaboration between the police and civilians, the Sierra Leone Police in the Northeast region joined forces with the Local Police Partnership Board (LPPB) to organize a momentous week-long celebration in Makeni. The objective of this weeklong event was to redefine the perception of the Sierra Leone Police by bringing policing activities to the community, promoting effective and professional law enforcement. The festivities commenced on Wednesday with a peace march along the main streets of Makeni city, featuring police personnel from various divisions in the northeast region. The peace march also included representatives from other security sector entities such as the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, Sierra Leone Correctional Center, Sierra Leone Fire Force, Office of the National Security, as well as traders, journalists, and other important stakeholders in the region. Furthermore, the celebration entail...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Sierra Leone's population is witnessing a steady rise in life expectancy, prompting citizens to demand further enhancements in the country's healthcare system. This is according to the life expectancy chart on macrotrends.net which shows a 0.63% increase in life expectancy from 55.9 years in 2023 to 56.27 years in 2024. This improvement in life expectancy has had an impact on Sierra Leone's latest global ranking by the Worldometers. According to this ranking, Sierra Leone holds the 186th position out of 201 nations, with an average expected age of 60.79 years placing Sierra Leone ahead of 15 other countries, including DR Congo, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivorie, Guinea, Mali, and Guinea Bissau. However, the latest global ranking also reveals a gender disparity in life expectancy within Sierra Leone. Women in Sierra Leone have a current life expectancy of 62.11 years, which is approximately three years longer than men whose life expectancy is 59.69 yea...