July 18 – The bitter in-fighting over who runs the game in Sierra Leone has burst back into the spotlight after several months of relative quiet with the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) saying it will be submitting a draft of its new statutes for FIFA’s approval in the coming days.
The delay means that an extra-ordinary congress due on July 27 and 28 has had to be postponed. FIFA have sent a letter to the SLFA signed by secretary general Fatma Samoura (pictured right with SLFA president Isha Johansen) ordering the delay.
“Considering that the revision process is generally time consuming, the extraordinary congress scheduled for 27 and 28 July 2018 should be rescheduled to a date to be determined at a later stage,” the letter stated.
“We’re kindly asking you to provide us with draft versions of both documents as soon as possible in order to immediately start the revision process.
“Once the SLFA and FIFA have agreed on the draft version of these documents, the SLFA will be able to convene an extraordinary congress to adopt both regulations.”
Convening an extraordinary congress to adopt the new statutes is part of a road map set out by FIFA last year to pave the way for an official congress to elect a new SLFA executive committee.
The term of office of the current SLFA president Johansen ended last August but her mandate was extended by FIFA until such an election is held.
However the postponement has angered both the Sierra Leone sports minister Ibrahim Nyelenkeh and some members of the SLFA.
Johansen is facing corruption charges she denies and Nyelenkeh told the BBC: “We’ll not accept the postponement because time is not on our side. Convening the extraordinary congress is part of the road map, so why can’t we have it now?”
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