Controversies brew over President Bio’s promise to Leone Stars for AFCON qualification

Freetown | 19th June 2021 | Vertex Media

There have been debates on social media following Leone Stars AFCON qualification and President Bio’s pending promise to gift the team with Le 100 million Leones plus a parcel of land. The President made this promise on the eve of cancelled final Group L against Benin on 30th March 2021. Sierra Leone needed a win against Benin in order to qualify after 26 years.

After a 1-0 victory against Benin in Conakry, Guinea this week, President Bio reaffirmed his commitment to fulfill his promise to the team after their qualification to the Cameroon 2021 AFCON finals.

Quarters of the public have been engaging in assumptions and arguments on who should benefit from the President’s promise. It is however unclear whether the President’s package to the team is only meant for those players that formed the squad against Benin in Conakry, or it is meant for all those players who participated in the qualifying campaign since the 13th November 2019. Many people opined that it will be unfair to just consider the final squad that went to Conakry and sideline the other players who started the campaign but missed out due to injuries, COVID-19 issues, etc. Notably, there are players who have played 2, 3, 4 games in the campaign but missed out in the last match, while there are other players who joined the team in the last match for the first time but stand to benefit.

Many believe that there will be bad blood in the Leone Stars camp ahead of the AFCON finals in Cameroon in January if the other players are sidelined. In total, there are over 50 players who took part in the entire qualifying campaign, excluding the technical staff. The entire public is urging the Presidency to do the needful for the good of the game.