Fifa Council Member, Johansen delivers an inspirational address at the Gibraltar Football Association General Assembly

Freetown | 9 February 2022 | Vertex Media

Fifa Council member Isha Johansen on Tuesday 8th of Febuary 2022 delivered an inspirational and emotional speech in her address to the 37 member delegates of the Gibraltar Football Association in Gibraltar.

The former Sierra Leone Football Association President who was also the first female to be elected into the Executive boardroom in CAF and now sits as the only African Female on the Fifa Council Governing Board, represented Fifa at the 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Gibraltar FA.

Isha Johansen addressing the Gibraltar Football Association General Assembly

Johsnsen congratulated President Michal Llanos on being re-elected, unanimously.

“Congratulations on all the work you and your team have been doing and you being re-elected.”
Isha Johansen

She reflected on the global challenges which threatened to bring federations across the world

“You, my dear friends have shown the spirit of determination and resilience, we now see the positive green lights in Gibraltarian Football.”
Isha Johansen

Karl-Erik Nilsson, First Vice President UEFA with Isha Johansen, Fifa Council Member

Isha Johansen in the company of First Vice President of UEFA, Karl-Erik Nilsson and UEFA Chief of National Associations Development, Thierry Favre, applauded the federation’s participation in European club competitions, and she went on to personally congratulate Kirsty Neale on being the first woman to be appointed to the federation’s Governance and Strategy Committee, and the womens national team’s historic first victory versus Liechenstein.

General Secretary Gibraltar FA, Ivan Robba with Isha Johansen, Fifa Council Member

Amidst standing ovation, Johansen brought the congregation to an inspiring and emotional end by likening the depth of the stakeholders passion to that of Sierra Leone and in particular FC Johansen, a football club she founded almost 20 years ago. She urged the federation to not only believe in their dreams but to ‘chase them unequivocally’.

“You may be small in number, but your pride and determination to succeed is enormous. Congratulations and goodluck to you all”

She ended with a final note of optimism confirming Fifa’s commitment to support the federation in development, “be it either through the FIFA Forward program, covid-10 relief plan or via ad hoc support where we can..”

Isha Johansen and Gibraltar Football Association Vice President

Madam Johansen was in Cameroon for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations finals, but later left to represent FIFA at the Gibraltar Football Association General Assembly.