
Members of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) through their chairman, Alhaji Unisa Alim ‘Awoko’ Sesay has reacted to the Football Association’s (FA) call to regularise their status or risk missing out on the planned April 17-19 2015 extra-ordinary congress.
February 10th letters signed by the SLFA scribe ordered the FA members to fulfill 10 conditions which will enable them to participate in the April congress which is scheduled for Makeni.
Amongst the conditions cited, were for members to fulfill the October 2010 signed ‘Freetown Declaration’ which is popularly know as the ‘ Barmoi Declaration’- which stated that “All Premier League Clubs must contract their players/employees properly by December 2010. Contracts must include limited insurance coverage for various categories of staff… and all Premier League Clubs should have requisite administrative personnel, by the same time.”
With the deadline for the fulfillment of the conditions which was February 17th already lapsed, the FA members in a recent correspondence signed by their chairman stated that the said Freetown Declaration has no binding effect to be used as prerequisite for members to attend the congress.
The letter reads: “The Freetown Declaration is the outcome of a club management course held in Freetown of which a number of benchmarks were set by all parties including FIFA/CAF, SLFA/Premier League board, premier and division clubs. All parties concerned are yet to meet their voluntary commitments.”
“The Freetown Declaration has never been presented or adopted by congress and as such has no binding effect. Nevertheless parties should aspire to meet their commitment.”
‘Awoko’ Sesay further stated that the SLFA membership is committed and accepts the January 26th resolution that was agreed for the April congress, and will not allow anyone to derail the process.