By Mohamed Juma Jalloh
Football is unarguably the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. Its popularity is evidenced by the great number of spectators who converge to watch the national team; Leone Stars lock horns with its African counterparts.
In fact, the love for football among Sierra Leoneans is so deep that it can be compared to religious fanaticism.
At any time a league is organised, the Siaka Stevens stadium in Freetown and other football fields across the country serve as rendezvous to escape the daily hustle and bustle.
Similarly, there is a possibility for the Female national team to attract similar crowds whenever they compete with their West African counterparts.
Sierra Leone National Female Football team is nicknamed Sierra Queens. Since 1994, the female national team has intermittently participated in international competitions. But, owing to poor support and encouragement from the central government and the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), the team has boycotted some crucial encounters at a very short notice.
In early 2020, the country was opportuned to host an Eight Team West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone-A female championship.
With no domestic competitions to determine a call to the national team, the selection criteria were largely based on expediency instead of stringency.
Players were arbitrarily drawn from the female football teams of the national security forces (the police, military and prisons) and other community and Corporate sponsored clubs such as Ram FC in Bo and Rutile FC in Moyamba.
By way of making up for the absence of domestic leagues, makeshift competitions are normally organised by passionate stakeholders including the national female football hero popularly called Musu Pelle.
By all indications, the WAFU tournament in Bo and Makeni was successfully organised, but the players were poorly prepared to compete with their West African counterparts.
During the Tournament, it dawned on many skeptics that the raw and natural talent of Sierra Leoneans should never be underestimated.
Despite the lack of motivation and foundational structures to boost confidence and professionalism, the Sierra Queens were undefeated in their home soil. Despite being honourably eliminated in the group stage, the hurriedly constituted team proved a hard nut to crack.
The Sierra Queens drew in all its encounters with other football teams including a 1-1 draw with the champions, Senegal.
Had there been adequate preparation and motivation, the story of the Sierra Queens at the WAFU tournament would have been a different case.
Sources say an insulting amount of Le 50,000 an equivalent of 5 US Dollars was offered to the players as a pre-tournament morale booster.
After the tournament, another contemptible amount of Le 200,000 was offered to each player in the form of allowances.
It’s over five months since the end of the WAFU tournament, the female football stars still hope for allowances that is not forthcoming.
A female midfielder popularly called Fabregas who sustained a shoulder injury in the thrilling encounter with the Senegalese continues to battle with the pain.
To date, she remains uncared for and neglected by the Sierra Leone Football Association and the Ministry of Sports.
Her plight reminded football fans of her male colleague called Pa Hannes who sustained an injury while playing for the Leone Stars in a World Cup qualifying encounter against Congo Brazzaville.
Undoubtedly, the development of female football in Sierra Leone faces huge challenges.
However, such indifference to national football heroes, no doubt, demotivates other female players who opt for a football career.
One of the players said she was taken aback when they were deprived of the national kits and other paraphernalia worn to contest in the WAFU tournament. As a professional sport, female players are expected to be in a proper physical and mental state.
This warrants female players to be mindful of food and drink that hazardous to their health.
Moreover, unlike their male counterparts, female players are susceptible to pregnancy when their minds are not engaged.
The Corona Virus pandemic, with all its negative consequences, has the potential to derail the ambitious career of female footballers.
The Federation International Football Association (FIFA), the global governing body for football recognises the risk confronting female players in the face of Covid-19.This presupposes the provision of livelihood support to female payers to cushion the economic effect that makes female players rely on men for daily sustenance. Therefore, FIFA has disbursed to all its affiliate associations Covid-19 relief packages.
Initially, the approval of FIFA to release annual allocations for 2020 to the tune of US$1.5M was hailed by many national associations as step in the right direction.
So far, the only amount disbursed to the football stakeholders that were publicised were those given to premier league clubs at Le 450M, Le250M for division 1&2 clubs, Le 84M for regional Associations and Le25M for district associations to serve as Covid-19 relief.
The total sum disbursed by FIFA stand at about US$150.000 is less than 5% of all funds received.
SLFA Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Kamara told this medium that the money had been distributed noting that the responsibility of regional football associations across the country is to ensure that Covid -19 relief funds trickle down to registered female football clubs that would in turn make an apportionment to the female players.
In addition, the Confederation of African football (CAF) also doles out US$200.000 as a supplementary support. The FIFA council, earlier this week has approved a special US$500,000 package that would be specifically directed to female football.
It is expected that the money would be utilized for the sole purpose of promoting female football
“Even though the US$500.000 has been approved by the FIFA council, the money is yet to be remitted into the SLFA account”. Kamara said.
In spite of the abundant reports of financial disbursements from FIFA headquarters to SLFA, none of the female footballers has received a single dime of Covid-19 relief funds.
In the meantime, female footballers rely on family members and other well-wishers to cope with the economic hardship brought about by Covid-19.