By Andrew Warshaw
August 7 – The bitter divisions within Sierra Leone football have taken an intriguing twist with FIFA giving Isha Johansen the green light to remain as interim federation president even though her mandate has expired.
FIFA says the current SLFA executive committee should remain in power until integrity checks are carried out on current and future officials pending elections.
Last month FIFA ruled that an electoral congress had to be delayed until a task force it set up carries out those checks. Johansen, who has faced a barrage of criticism from opponents in her attempt to weed out corruption and match-fixing, is a member of FIFA’s member associations committee which took the decision and which is chaired by Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad whom Sierra Leone supported when he upset Issa Hayatou to become Confederation of African Football boss.
FIFA said at the time that a Memorandum of Understanding, which included agreement on integrity checks and was signed by its general secretary Fatma Samoura, Sierra Leone’s minister of sport Ahmed Khanou and Johansen “had not been adhered to”. That is apparently still the case.
Johansen’s opponents are crying foul by insisting she should hand over the reign of power since her four-year term of office expired on August 3 but FIFA takes a different view.
“All current and potential SLFA executive committee members, including its President, must undergo integrity checks in line with the FIFA status and FIFA governance regulations,” FIFA’s director of member associations and development in Africa, Vèron Mosengo-Omba, stated in a letter to Johansen which was quoted by the BBC.
“Until these integrity checks are done, we have no alternative but to continue with the current leadership and management of the SLFA in preparation for the general assembly. The first meeting of the FIFA task force will take place in mid-September in Freetown.”
Twenty-four hours before Johansen received FIFA’s letter, SLFA secretary general Christopher Kamara wrote to the entire SLFA membership requesting that the existing executive committee should still be allowed to govern so as “not to create a power vacuum.
“We cannot disregard the directives of FIFA which will be tantamount to a breach of the status of FIFA, CAF and SLFA resulting to sanctions provided for in these statutes,” Kamara wrote.
However, as the in-fighting continued, one of Johansen’s main opponents, Idrissa Tarawalley, told the BBC: “We totally reject FIFA’s decision because five out of the nine executive members – including Johansen – have lost legitimacy because their mandate has expired.
“The mandates of the other four members remain valid because they were elected as chairmen by their regions in the country to represent them in the executive committee.
“Sierra Leone is a sovereign state and the SLFA is an autonomous body. Our laws supersede that of FIFA.”
This last comment is highly contentious since it suggests governments can decide how their football associations are run, exactly the kind of conflict of interest FIFA has been so determined to stamp out but which is particularly prevalent in African states which have a different cultural landscape.
Meanwhile as Johansen clings on to power without stating officially what her intentions are, John Keister, head coach of Sierra Leone’s national team, has been suspended indefinitely by the SLFA following the leak of an audio conversation where he is accused of bringing the federation “into disrepute”.
Manchester-born Keister, a former Sierra Leone international who played for a number of lower-league English sides, allegedly called Johansen “corrupt” in conversations that took place three weeks ago with goalkeeper coach Tamba Moses and logistics officer Alusine Kabba, both of whom have also banned indefinitely.
Keister was banned despite a lengthy apology in which he said he “never intended to smear, defame or castigate anybody’s hard-won reputation or character.” But he added: “I must express my utter disappointment and frustration over the recording of my discussion without my approved consent.”
In a statement, the SLFA pulled no punches. “These officials were found guilty of gross misconduct by bringing the name of the institution into disrepute. The SLFA management will subsequently inform the suspended officials with regards development on their employment status.”
Keister was only appointed 11 weeks ago and has only taken charge of Sierra Leone for one official match, a 1-0 win over Kenya in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifier in Freetown in June.
But Kamara, who wrote to Keister explaining his ban, declared: “You have had countless verbal and written warnings about your conduct.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713283961labto1713283961ofdlr1713283961owedi1713283961sni@w1713283961ahsra1713283961w.wer1713283961dna1713283961