Sierra Leone News: Premier League: Mahmoud Fofanah Wins Best Player Award

By Desmond Tunde Coker

FC Kallon attacking midfielder Mahmoud Fofanah aka Lampard on Friday August 16, 2019 was announced as the Best Player of the just concluded Sierra Leone Premier League 2018/2019 season in an Awards ceremony organized by the Sierra Leone Premier League Board at the Bintumani auditorium in Freetown with host of high dignitary present

The player was voted as Sierra Leone Premier League Best Player by coaches, captains and journalists across the country. Mahmoud Fofanah was born on August 8, 1998, in Freetown and he is a Sierra Leoneans who had played so many leagues within the country, and has played for the Sierra Leone Under 17 Junior national team.

Lampard miss out of the Sierra Leone Premier League IV, based on selection by the Sierra Leone Premier League board.

During the ceremony, Sierra Leone Premier League Board Chairman Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai said that the Premier League Board was constituted in November 2018. He said that when they took over, there was no hope or funds for the commencement of the league. He said that they approached corporate institutions to sponsor the league, but they got the greatest rejections.

He said that they approach the Sierra Leone Brewery that provided Le 50, 000, 000 sponsorship, and the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank further supported the Board with Le 50 million Leones with no strings attached. “This sum was never enough and could not have even started a league. We turned to the last hope, the Government of Sierra Leone. I met President Bio and explained the circumstances and he asked him me how much we needed. Prepared with the budget, I submitted a Le 3.5 billion budget to the President. The president said, ‘Go they will call you’. On my way to Lungi, I got a call from Chief Minister indicating that the President has agreed to support the league with Le 2 billion,” he said.

He said the Board members worked around the clock to ensure this league is a milestone. He said, “All of these members were travelling around the country coordinating and organizing at short notice and sometimes leaving their families behind.” “In return, for those who are saying the Board members were paid, the Board only got sitting fees of Le 500, 000 per sitting. Throughout the tenure of 7 months, the board met and was paid for only 12 sittings. Except for me, I never took sitting fees,” he said

The chairman said, “I want to thank the PLB members very much for putting in the long hours, for putting up with the disdain, accusations and sometimes unfair treatment. Today people are machinating terrible things about us to score cheap political points. What is clear however, is that you have served and what has been achieved is monumental. Let’s wait and see if another Board will surpass the goal set.”

He said, “We are not saying the board was not faced with challenges. In fact; organizing football is synonymous to challenges. What we did is to bravely face them and overcome them.”

He further explained that the PLB from the onset set itself to empower the clubs financially and institutionally. He said that they initially planned to provide Le 80 million subsidies to each club. “With Government meeting the entire budget requested, we paid each 13 participating clubs Le 100 million, Le 50 million for the first leg and Le 50 million after the break,” he said.

“Over 520 young people employed at the Premier League level by 13 football clubs. This number doubled across the regional FA who played their first division leagues with more teams. About 88 Referees were engaged with allowances paid to them every week, the media and its reporters got subsidised, board members were paid sitting fees, about 50 people were engaged as match commissioners throughout the league, about 28 people as match coordinators, two referees’ coordinators and two accountants were paid monthly remuneration and consultancies to documentary makers.”

List of Players who receive awards:

1. Young Player of the year: Saidu Bah Kamara — East End Tigers

2. Coach of the year: John Edward Keister — East End Lions

3. Best Goal Keeper: Mohamed Nabieu Kamara (Fabiansky) — East End Lions

4. Best Defender: Ibrahim Mansaray (Smalling) — F.C Kallon

5. Highest Goal Scorer: Musa Noah Kamara (Tombo) — East End Lions

6. Best Midfielder: Ibrahim Turay — Kamboi Eagles

7. Best Attacker: Musa Noah Kamara — East End Lions

8. Best Player: Mahmoud Fofanah (Lampard) — FC Kallon

Sierra Leone Premier League 2019 Eleven

1 Mohamed N Kamara (East End Lions)

2 Alpha Bedor Conteh (Bo Rangers)

3 Yeami Dunia (East End Lions)

4 Ibrahim Mansaray (Smalling)FC Kallon)

5.Sallieu Barrie (Pa Joe) Kamboi Eagles.

6.Kenewa Stevens (Diego) FC Kallon

7.Mahmoud Fofanah (FC Kallon).

8.Alhassan Koroma (Twin) East End Lions

9.Suffian Kalokoh (Tormentor) Old Edwardians

10.Baimba Sesay (East End Tigers).

11.Musa N Kamara (Tombo) East End Lions.