By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

The President of the Sierra Leone Football Association(SLFA),Thomas Daddy Brima together with his Executive Committee, on Wednesday July 5 2023 successfully led the membership to the 2023 statutory Ordinary Congress at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Freetown.

The Congress reflected on numerous matters pertinent to the development of the country’s football, main amongst them was the adoption of a New Football Ecosystem that aimed at reducing the number of premier league teams in the various SLFA leagues to ensure quality, efficiency and proper league administration. He said that the new system will see gradual reduction of clubs in the Sierra Leone premier league from 18 teams to 12 teams by 2025/26 league season.

This was unanimously encompassed by the delegates’ as some of them described the system as “a step in the right direction.”

Daddy Brima disclosed to Congress a number of developmental projects that will soon be implemented by his Executive Committee, amongst which is a full package of artificial turf, flood lights, perimeter fence, 100KV generator and 100-seater pavilion at the SLFA Academy Field, Approved Field, adding that Kono artificial turf pitch will be renovated with a perimeter fence whilst the Kenema pitch will be upgraded to standard.

SLFA president confirmed that the said projects are set to commence in August 2023 as the Netherland based contractors representatives Edel Grass were expected to have arrived in Freetown on July 7, 2023 to complete the necessary documents. He assured.

However, soccer fans across the globe especially Sierra Leoneans at home and aboard are asking why the reduction of premier league clubs to 12, instead of increasing them to 24 because, the former SLFA President Madam Isha Johansen did well in a bid to upgrade the standard of the premier league teams. The proposal for artificial turfs projects were 95% done by the previous administration of SLFA. Standards are falling in SLFA supervision at the moment.