Sierra Leone push self destruct button

Sierra Leone’s preparations for this weekend’s African Nations Cup tie against South Africa in Freetown has not been ideal, with infighting among members of the SLFA and technical team blighting their focus on a key and very crucial match in their quest to qualify for the 2012 tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

For starters, talisman and skipper Mohamed Kallon has not been considered for this clash even though he has been a revelation in China where he has been offered a two year extension to his contract following a loan agreement that is due to expire at the end of the season and Kallon points a finger at the Secretary General.

In addition, another key player, striker Kei Kamara has also been slapped with a two match suspension ostensibly for “indiscipline” although insiders claim it was at the behest of the Secretary General after the player had questioned some of his decisions and they fear that the sentence was handed at a crucial time where they can ill-afford to miss their key players.

The President of the FA has been recovering in London where he has been receiving medical attention for the last two years and in essence, Sierra Leone’s Football Association has been run in what critics claim by remote control and fans are up in arms, demanding that the entire committee should resign.

Although they won the respect of many followers when the team snatched a credible draw against Egypt in Cairo last month, they are now accused of shooting themselves in the foot by dropping key players on the eve of such a crucial match against the former African Nations Cup winners South Africa.

“There is a serious vision here in Sierra Leone,” said our source. “Kallon has been dropped from the squad even though he has fully recovered from his injuries and since his return to action, his club has offered him a two year extension to his contract and yet he has been snubbed.

“The fans are blaming the FA for incompetence and asking them to resign. We hope you guys do not beat us because we suspect there could be serious problems with the fans venting their frustrations against the FA. But you do not have to worry about your safety, you will be taken care of, the people are just fed-up against the FA and you have nothing to fear from the fans.”

South Africa assemble at their base camp in Johannesburg on Sunday and coach Pitso Mosimane, rocked by the withdrawal of his own playmaker and Everton’s Steven Pienaar, has indicated that they will complete their preparations in South Africa and have chartered a plane to fly them to Freetown on Friday.

“We aim to fly in on either on Friday or Saturday,” hinted Mosimane on Thursday after announcing his squad, “and then play the game and fly out again. We cannot afford to go via commercial flights because it would mean flying to Kenya and then stopping in Accra before connecting a final flight to Freetown. That would be a lot of flying and too taxing on the players.”

But a word of caution to Mosimane and his team is that despite the problems that have surfaced from their hosts, they should remember that pride will be at stake and nobody wishes to be beaten at home and in front of their womenfolk, their children and their supporters and so despite the possible absence of Kallon and Kamara, they should nonetheless brace themselves for an epic battle.