SLFA Launches FIFA Football for School Program, trains 50 Physical Education Teachers
The Sierra Leone Football Association with support from FIFA and in partnership with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) and the Ministry of the Sport (MOS) and the National Sports Authority (NSA) has today launched the FIFA Football for Schools (F4S) program at the Wusum Field in Makeni.
The program is aimed at making football more accessible to both boys and girls around the country by incorporating football activities into the educational system in Sierra Leone.
SLFA Vice President – 1 Harold Nat-Johnson accompanied by the Minister of Sports Madam Augusta James-Teima demonstrated the launching of the F4S program by handing FIFA branded balls to a group kids symbolizing taking the game to the grassroots through the national school system.
Also present at the historic launching were the Mayor of the Makeni City Council His Worship Abu Bakarr Lamtels Kamara, the Mayor of the Port Loko City Council His Worship Ali Badara Tarawallie who doubles as the Vice President – 2 of SLFA, Chairman of the North-East Regional FA Brima Jalloh, Chairman of the North-West Regional FA Abdul Osman Turay, Chairman of the Eastern Regional FA Prince Sa’Quee, Chairman Western Area FA Rev. Philip Buck, the North-East Deputy Director of Education Sahr Ruben Suluku, the Director of Sports at the Ministry of Sports Haroun Korji, the Director of Institutes, Victor Hastings Spaine and the Acting General Secretary of the Sierra Leone Football Association Ing. Mohamed Benson Bawoh.
In his keynote address, the Vice President-1 Harold Nat-Johnson expressed great delight over the unprecedented achievement, noting that, “the development of every Nation’s national teams starts with the grassroots. We are therefore ecstatic as a federation, with support from FIFA, to have trained 50 Physical Education Teachers selected from across the country and have successfully launched a very lucrative football program for school kids in Sierra Leone.
Nat-Johnson disclosed that the distribution of over Ten Thousand (10,000) standard balls to schools across the country, which shall commence next week, is part of FIFA’s support to ensuring the sustainability of the program.
Apart from regularly coaching school kids, the trained Teachers who were certified with a FIFA Diploma are expected to train other P.E. Teachers in their respective Regions and Districts.
During his statement, the lead facilitator Antonio B. Sanchez thanked the SLFA, MOS, MBSSE and NSA for their great support towards the implementation of the program. He added by commending the participants for their remarkable commitment towards the training, adding that, monitoring and evaluation are part of the program which he said will be done through a mobile application system.
