Bittar’s Blog – A mere $1000… Who is responsible?
Less than 12 hour to a vital football showdown between Sierra Leone and South Africa in Freetown in a bid to reach 2012 African Nations Cup final to be co-host by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Leone Stars players abandoned camp for a mere $1,000. (Photo: Our darling Leone Stars)
That is ridiculous, who’s is to blame for such catastrophe in our football? This is discreditable when you look at the bigger picture of things, when are we going to know football is money, and without money we just can’t compete amongst the big names in African football.
How do we expect our International Stars come out and give their best for our nation, where there is no compensation, ‘Bravo’ to all Leone Stars players that do us proud for their stunning performance against South Africa in our home soil, but for Leone Stars to make the tournament in Gabon & Equatorial Guinea; the Government of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) need to step up their play.
A few weeks before the encounter it is reported that the President of the Sierra Leone Football Association, Nahim Khadi said funds had been provided by the Sierra Commercial Bank as guaranteed by the treasury; well just on Saturday the 8 October 2010 it was all over Facebook the fast means of communication globally, that Leone Stars players temporarily abandoned camp for the said amount.
I have been following Sierra Leone football for years now, this has always been the problem blind-fouling the players for what is due to them, and whenever they stand for their rights they get axed by authorities in control.
I understand the Sierra Leone Government cares about Sierra Leonean welfare and that of course includes Football the most popular sport in the country. Well this is the time; Sierra Leoneans need their darling Leone Stars to make the tournament come 2012. What is due to Caesar we most give to Caesar, these players deserve better and there is no way we can achieve in football when things like this are still a stumbling block to our game.
When funds will be made available even before the players landed into the country, these funds should be provided as motivation in a match like this and the ones to come. When will football be taken seriously in Sierra Leone? When are we going to respect ourselves? These are some of the mighty questions that have been asked for many years now, yet still no answer to them. Are we not learning from our neighbours in West Africa, we all watch Ghana in the just concluded World Cup in South Africa? Ghana use to be Sierra Leone punching bag in football but not any more for a simple reason, because they take football seriously in all aspects of the game, if we are not ready to challenge the top names in Africa football why can’t we stop deceiving ourselves.
Football is not a joke, and it is time we all join hands to put the record straight, many sports journalists in Sierra Leone today have decided to quit writing, why? Because anytime you try to put things right you became enemy to those that feel they can run football, and no one is good enough to correct them. The Government cannot do anything because they are protected by FIFA. But the FA always fail to put their modalities in place until last minute, if they no money is not available that need to be address even before the first ball is kicked.
With all due respect to the Government of Sierra Leone and Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) we the agog fans of Leone Stars don’t need this sluggishness in the development of our football.
Thanks to the Vice President’s intervention, that put an end to the said strike from the players. However, Sierra Leone football is old enough not to go down a rough patch like his anymore, not after the players have done an excellent job in Cairo and was not lucky enough to defeat South Africa, I think this is the time the Government and SLFA must do all in their power to allow these boys to produce a result.
According to a close source from SLFA, even after the Egypt encounter there were conflicts’ over players money that led to the suspension of Kei Kamara and Albert Jarret, we all understand there is no country in recent times that can progress in football without the support of it Government, likewise the people that are running the game, I mean the SLFA, They must be dedicated to Sierra Leoneans more than their pocket, for the smooth progress of the game.
It will be great to see our National flag flying in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea 2012, but before that we need to start winning football matches and we can only win international football matches if our players are well motivated, and there is no two ways about it top players from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Togo etc., are earning lots more than our players but yet still they go on strike for what they believed belong to them.
I wish my darling Leone Stars all the best, go Leone Stars go, as I rest my case.
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