The Craig Bellamy Foundation situated in Tombo town in the Western Area Rural District of Freetown is gradually becoming a forest ground.

The public has called on the Government of Sierra Leone to intervene and save the life of the Craig Bellamy Foundation which should have served as the perfect road to linking emerging football talents to Europe is no more functioning.

Calls have been made by many people for the government to get hold of the facility to nurture talents or let it out to whoever is interested.
Craig Bellamy’s Foundation was supposed to be a route to a better life.

Two hours’ drive from Freetown, in the small fishing village of Tombo was the home of the academy of The Craig Bellamy Foundation, set up by the former Wales striker in September 2010.

The time pride of both the village and the country has now lined shut and the once lush pitch has become a dry and pock-marked.

Bellamy, who played for Manchester City and Liverpool, decided to launch his foundation after visiting a friend in Freetown in 2007.

He said at the time that he wanted it to be his legacy and told the parents of those in the first intake: “I want them to succeed in life as much as my own children.”

The Sierra Leone government provided 15 acres to build dormitories, staff accommodation, classrooms and training facilities.

Around 35 promising boys, younger than 14, were selected from across the country, while a youth league was also established with the initial backing of UNICEF for 2,400 children, which proved a huge success.