November 11 – FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura is personally intervening to help bring an end to the ongoing dispute between Sierra Leone’s football association (SLFA) and local authorities.
Football’s world governing body has requested a meeting with Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma and other leading officials.
“We are confident that Sierra Leone’s president and government officials will understand and honour our request for an official visit on 16 November,” Samoura wrote in a letter to the SLFA. “We are convinced a positive solution can be found with the necessary commitment from all parties.”
Since the letter, the dates have been changed to November 18, 19 because Koroma is unavailable earlier.
Samoura will almost certainly discuss the ongoing match-fixing inquiry driven by SLFA president Isha Johansen. In 2014, 15 national team players and officials were suspended indefinitely over allegations of match-fixing relating to the goalless Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw against South Africa.
The SLFA launched a match-fixing inquiry earlier in 2016 but it is still in the hands of the government and has yet to formally proceed.
“We would like to pay a courtesy visit to the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, as well as the Minister of Sports, the Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the three-person committee currently conducting the SLFA match-fixing enquiry,” Samoura wrote. “We kindly ask the SLFA to contact the abovementioned authorities to arrange such a visit on behalf of FIFA.”
FIFA, which discourages government interference in football, is giving strong backing to Johansen who was released without charge after being detained by anti-corruption officials in September. Africa’s only female football president spent a night in custody after failing to attend a hearing set up by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on September 7.
Johansen, who vehemently denies any fraudulent activity, wrote on social media afterwards she suspected it was “all part of dirty Sierra Leone football politics” and FIFA have now come to her aid.
“FIFA has no reason to suspect there has been misuse of funds that Fifa has provided to the SLFA,” FIFA wrote in a letter to the SLFA whilst warning the Sierra Leone authorities not to meddle in football business. “Over the course of the last three years, FIFA has noticed several activities of third parties that could be considered as interference (in) the running of the SLFA.”
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