BY BOCKARIE ALIEU
232NEWS, FREETOWN
It has now been made clear that Rodney Michael, Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai or Mohamed Kallon are not interested in the race for the SLFA Presidency. According to their constitution, the mandate of the present SLFA executive will end in 2025 as such they should also organize elective congress in 2025. So far the name of the incumbent Thomas Daddy Brima and Babadi Kamara has come up for top position in the FA. Giving his view over the two candidates Rodney said both candidates are his brothers from the same district. He went on that the two individuals have passion for the game and they have done a lot to help the game develop. On the issue of where he will be throwing his support he said he will individually support the two candidates. He though said the one vote for Blackpool will be decided by the board members of the club and not by him alone as the Chairman. Rodney went on that the race is a critical decision for the stakeholders. In 2021 he said he pledged his support for Saffa Abdulai but this year he is not interested. The two people he said are good people for the game and if the constitution will allow he will love to see them as joint president of the FA. Both candidates he said have short falls and weaknesses but there is one better than the other which he said the delegates need to look for. Babadi he said even without being an executive member of the FA has done exceptionally well to develop the game of football. In this case he said the delegates should take a critical look at the two candidates and decide whether they should vote for continuity or for a change. He highlighted that there are several things needed to be put in place to develop the game. Commenting on the absent of Sierra Leone in the AFCON competitions he pointed out that the structure of the national teams is zero compare to other countries in Africa and the world. He went on that they have it all wrong in preparation and everything about the national teams. The lack of corporate sponsorship is a financial burden on the government and the FA. The money the government is putting into the game can’t be enough if they don’t utilize them well. He pointed out that there is no continuity in the national teams as they continue to select players on sentiment. Rodney continued that it is only in Sierra Leone that they will invite local players for national teams with lesser number of players coming from the club leading the league. In this case he said the method of appointing individuals into national teams is not correct and need to be change. He pointed out poor management and lack of financial accountability in the game. At the end he said the stakeholders needs someone who can change this trajectory in the game they all love.
