Why Sierra Leone players fail abroad – Bittar
Sport correspondent for Sierra Express Media Sierra Leone Ltd, Alie Ahmed Bittar has identified the reasons young talented Sierra Leonean footballers fail to succeed when they travel abroad in search of greener pastures. (Photo: Kabba Samura)
The sport pundit from the United Kingdom, who’s embarking on the promotion of Sierra Leone player’s abroad has said if Sierra Leoneans or investors can attract foreign interest from most of the football academies operating in the country that will be enough to prepare the players before rushing them abroad for professional contracts.
“I’ve seen many people doing talent hunt. I’m not judging anybody, but my advice is that people should learn to plant a seed and wait patiently for the harvest time,” Bittar stated.
“I know that many talented Sierra Leonean players leave the country everyday for abroad in search of professional contracts, but only a few of them succeed at the end of the day. It simply means that something is wrong somewhere. “One reason is the life style of our players. Most of our players consume too much carbohydrate, and as a sportsman, you don’t need to live on carbohydrate. Besides, players need to know when to rest, when to train and the kind of training to embark on at a particular time.
“Unfortunately, when they travel broad, they find out that they need to start all over again. At the end of the day, club officials abroad would simply tell them, ‘oh, you’re a good player, but you need time to fit into our game plan’. So, we need to prepare our players mentally, psychologically, physically and potentially before taking them abroad as ready-made materials.
“What I’ve explained must been taken into consideration for the betterment of our future players that are already in the country, from U-17 to National Senior level need this preparation; if you ask me I will say a better home grown talent instead of clubs officials rushing players for their own selfish needs
For that reason the initiative the African International Youth Football Tournament (AIYT) is a brilliant idea that will not only develop our players but prepare them for competitions in the near future.
It was understood that the inaugural tournament last year was for Under-17 players and for this years’ event that has already started the age limit has been increased to Under 20. Great many Sierra Leoneans will agree with me this is the type of exposure our players need.
The famous Diambar academy of Senegal, owned by popular footballer Patrick Vieira is taking part in the ongoing tournament in Sierra Leone, to say the least, these are the type of investments that will bring light to our home talent, so by the time they get to foreign clubs they are well polished to compete, The fact that you bring up a player with all the basics from a football academy suggests that they are well trained and can produce at any point in time.
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