By Benjamin Pratt in Gold Coast, Australia
The Sierra Leone Government delegation to the XXI Commonwealth Games scheduled to take place in the Gold Coast has safely arrived in Brisbane, Australia on Sunday 1st April 2018 at about 8:15PM Australian local time onboard Eithad Boeing 232.
The delegation is headed by Mr. Samuel O.J. Coker, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sports and in the delegation is Mr. Ibrahim Bangura, Director of Sports, Mr. Ibrahim Tarawallie, Accountant and Benjamin Pratt Information Officer/Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Sports.
Forming part of the official delegation also are two independent Journalists from Sports Writers Association Sierra Leone (SWASAL) – Mr. Frank Cole and Mr. Musa Sesay President and Organising Secretary respectively of the Association.
In another development, three Sierra Leonean Sports Journalists namely Frank Cole, the President of the Sports Writers Association of Sierra Leone (SWASAL), the association’s Organizing Secretary Musa Sesay and Benjamin Pratt the Information Officer/PRO of the Ministry of sports were the first from Sierra Leone to be accredited to witness the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games by the organizers of the XXI Commonwealth Games.
The opening ceremony which took place at the Main Press Centre (MPC) in Gold Coast, Australia marks the beginning of the biggest event in the Gold Coast’s history, as over 6,600 Athletes and team officials from 71 Nations and territories would compete for medals in 275 events.
According to the SWASAL Organizing Secretary Musa Sesay: “I am extremely delighted to be part of this history making event. It’s a dream come true; this is my first biggest sporting event to report as a sport Journalist.”
He assured Sierra Leoneans that he would do his best to reports the positives and negatives of our athletes participating in these games.
Sierra Leone would participate in eight sporting discipline during the Commonwealth Games which starts on the 4th of April and ends on the 15th April 2018. These disciplines are: Athletics, Swimming, Boxing, Cycling, Squash, Table Tennis, Wrestling, and Beach Volleyball. Sierra Leone Beach Volleyball Male – Patrick Lombie and Abubakarr Kamara would represent the whole of Africa as they have earlier on qualified during the qualification competition in 2017. Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad are expecting them to earn a Gold Medal for the Nation since they were the only African Team to qualify to the Commonwealth Games in Beach Volleyball.