By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

Football pundits across the country have expressed huge disappointments over the selection of the national team’s coach.

The non-procedural offer of appointment made by SLFA appointment committee that brough in Leone Stars Head Coach: Amidu Karim and his two assistants- Francis Zappa Koroma and Alhaji Foray, had been constested since then.

They have on Thursday December 14 officially signed a two-year contract with the Sierra Leone Football Association and it has been approved by the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Authority.

However, the  contract period was supposed to have spanned from Tuesday October 3rd, 2023 till Wednesday October 15, 2025, with the mandate to covering both the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2025 Africa Cup Nations Qualifications.

Sierra Leoneans at home and aboard have long expressed doubts regarding the coahing qualification of Amidu Karim togther with his backroom staff.

Putting him under test, others  have observed that Sierra Leone football ranking has been dropped from 122 to 127 under the watch of new Coach Amidu Karim and Co-helpers, according to a recent FIFA reports.

They blaming this low ranking to poor performances shown in both local and international matches in recnt years.

Even though, the 51-years-old, Amidu Karim led Leone Stars for the first time at FIFA international friendlies which ended on a wonderful one all-draw on Saturday 14-10-2023, but the overal result in the country is not welcoming.

Nonetheless, the National Sports Authority (NSA) and Ministry of Sport (MOS) had earlier frowned at the appointment of Amidu Karim and others due to the non-procedures undertaken on his selection, and many said the head coach was appointed based on allegedly political connection within the system.

Meanwhile, close  sources have revealed to Africa24 that SLFA, NSA, MOS and government are unable to sign a coach with a pedigree of  experienced and with outstanding qualifications.

They say government is highly cash-trap in  a bid to upkeep the living standard of a more prefearble coach in the country.  They add that taxpayers’ money have been wasted on Leone Stars matches played so far and sadly without the people paying these taxes seeing some positive results.