October 22, 2020 (SALONE TIMES)
FREETOWN – President of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Isha Johansen on Monday night visited the Big Sister Show village in Freetown.
She visited the village together with the Leone Stars Head Coach John Kiester. According to them, the purpose of visit was to talk to the ladies in the Big Sister Show about the role of women in football.
The head coach first talk to the ladies on the technical part of the game and how to be a good player and what makes you a good player.
The coach emphasized on things that are not good for players like smoking, drinking and womanizing. Apart from been a player, he told them that women too can be a good football administrator like the present FA president in Sierra Leone.
Isha explained to them about how she came into football. She talked about her club, FC Johansen which she said was full of players who have lost their parents during the war.
These players, she said she took them( the Football players) to different countries playing in several tournaments. She went on that her club started from non-division level and today they are one of the best premier league clubs in the country.
During question time one of the Big Sister Room Mate a Gambian asked Isha why Sierra Leone is not encouraging female players like other countries are doing.
The lady mentioned fine female players who are playing professional football in neighboring countries due to lack of constructive female football league in the country.
A Guinean among them said apart from the present players, past players like Musu Pele Bangura and the others have nothing to show that they played for Sierra Leone like their colleagues do in other countries.
Isha told them that unfortunately there is nothing good to take home about female football in Sierra Leone. Isha went on that FIFA has urged her to try to develop female football in her country.
She accepted that she too regrets it as a president of the FA and Chairperson for female football in Africa. Notwithstanding, she said things are changing now as the government and the FA have poured some money into female football.
He told them that FIFA has also agreed to provide $2M to construct female football academy in the country.
