Sierra Leone’s Leone Stars are stranded in Conakray Guinea after missing a connecting flight to Senegal for their CHAN 2018 first round return match against the Teranga Lions Saturday.
Pictures of the players sleeping on the floor at Conakry Airport as they wait for the next available flight to Dakar have widely circulated online causing a national outrage.
So who is to blame for the unfortunate situation?
With the Sierra Leone Football Association elections around the corner, the plight of the national team has quickly turned into a political tool against the current office led by Madam Isha Johansen.
However, it has since emerged that the government through the Ministry of Sports decided to take full responsibility for flights, accommodations and all logistics for national teams. A decision SLFA leadership duly obliged to.
The journey to Dakar which started Wednesday in Freetown delayed due “poor planning” by ministry officials leading to the missed connecting flight in Conakry.
“This has nothing whatsoever to do with SLFA, in fact up until yesterday the Ministry said they would not pay for any FA Secretariat staff forgetting that CAF regulations state that FA officials are mandatory to travel with the national teams,” a close source disclosed.
The team is expected to leave Conakry today evening via Brussels Airline to Dakar.
Stars managed a 1-1 draw in the first leg last weekend in Freetown.
