09/09/2023
*5 Young Players Train with JFV Nordkreis Football Club in Germany: An Analysis of Youth Football hopeful Journey Under President Thomas Daddy Brima Administration*
By Abdul Karim Kargbo
The importance of youth football development in Sierra Leone cannot be overemphasized. It seeks to make football more accessible to both boys and girls in the country by incorporating football activities into the education system, in partnership with relevant authorities and stakeholders.
In 2021, as a football administrator, I was one of the firmest youth football administrators and club owners who pioneered the first ever Western Area Football Association U15 Searching for Stars competition. This program opens the door for plethora of football clubs in Sierra Leone including some premier league clubs to establish their youth football category or partnering with under 15 and 17 clubs in the country.
When the competition reached it climaxed, the Sierra Leone Football Association which is the parent body of football in Sierra Leone appointed Alimamy Kuriash Conteh as Youth Football Coordinator, a position that has never existed in the structures of Football in the country. With such appointment, I was optimistic that the dynamics of football will not be a new normal but a foundation of new developmental trajectory the country’s youth football will see. This is a blueprint we are witnessing presently with the activities of the SLFA Youth Football Coordinator.
I was fortunate to work with Alimamy Kuriash during the implementation period of the WAFA searching for Stars competition and I knew how passionate and quintessential he was. To measure the performance of youth football development through SLFA Thomas Daddy Brima’s leadership, this article is centered on a tripartite analysis.
1. Marketing of Under 15 And 17 Players into International Academies and Clubs.
The central pillar or backbone of every nation is it’s young people. When president Thomas Daddy Brima assumed office, he realized that for Sierra Leone to compete structurally, there are integral roles his leadership has to play to get it right. One of this is to market young players into different football academies in Europe and other footballing nations. This has seen over 20 under 15 and 17 players either signed pre-professional contracts or signed with academies.
SLFA youth football marketing system has seen young players from Sierra Leone signed a professional contract with a Romania. These players includes Sallieu Bah who has just been called by the National team at the age of 16 becoming the second youngest player to be selected by the National Team - Leone Stars.
Before Sallieu Bah’s National call up, Mohamed Kallon remains the youngest player to ever have a called up by Leones Stars at 15 in January 1995.
Before getting his international call up, Sallieu Bah was one of the youngest players to play the Sierra Leone Premier league with an exceptional performance netting several goals and winning over 5 man of the match awards.
Also, five players are presently in Germany through the SLFA youth football development marketing system where they will be schooled and trained to compete with other under 15 European players till they will be able to sign professional contracts base on their performance with the academy. These players were selected for their exceptional performances in Sierra Leone through the leadership of SLFA Thomas Daddy Brima and the Youth Football Coordinator. They are Goalkeeper Alieya Mansaray, Alie Ramadan Kabia, Mohamed Bangura, David Destiny Conteh and Nasiru Jimmissa - all drawn from HADA FC, Star Sports Football Academy and Wilberforce Strikers Juniors.
2. Inclusion of Young Players into The National Team
For several years, the country’s national team is known for calling Sierra Leonean players trading with international clubs to represent the country. Leone Stars match 5 encounter in Liberia with Nigeria at the ongoing AFCON 2023 Qualifiers witnessed a new dawn where over 15 local players were selected and participated in the said competition. This is the highest ever number of a locally based players selection the country has seen. Such inclusion is a testament of the growth of the country’s premier league competition.
3. Youth Competitions
The leadership of SLFA has provided the facelift in youth football by supporting programs that promote football and education. The second edition of SLFA’s football for school programs will hopefully kick start this September, the last edition which was sanctioned by CAF through the support of the Motsepe Foundation and the National youth football tournament will commence in October this year. These are milestones that when implemented, our youth football system will improve rapidly and the country’s next generation of great players will be enormous.
This trajectory president Thomas Daddy Brima together with his Executive and the Youth Football Coordinator are setting will yield good results.
End
©️Abdul Karim Kargbo
A Former Sierra Leone Premier League Board Member, Owner Hillside Football Academy SL (Division 2, U15,U17), a seasoned sports analyst and more…