The Parliamentary Committee on Sports on Tuesday, 23rd June 2026, summoned officials from the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Authority (NSA) to the Administrative Building at Tower Hill, Freetown.

The summons was aimed at obtaining a status update on the ongoing rehabilitation of the National Stadium, which is being undertaken by Chinese contractors.

In her opening remarks, Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Racheal Pessima, congratulated the Executive Director of the NSA, Mohamed Alphaka Conteh Esq., on his appointment. She welcomed the delegation and stated that the Committee’s objective was to receive an update on the project and identify areas where parliamentary intervention may be required.

Hon. Pessima also commended the Ministry of Sports and the NSA for what she described as improved collaboration between the two institutions. “The Committee has observed through the media that the Ministry of Sports and the NSA are working closely together. I urge you to sustain this momentum in the interest of developing sports in the country,” she said.

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Director of Sports at the Ministry, Haroun Mustapha Korgie, praised the Committee for consistently engaging both institutions on matters of national importance.

Providing a detailed update, Deputy Executive Director of the NSA, Dr. Abdulai Rahman Swaray, said the project, which began in February 2022, has exceeded its original timeline, citing delays linked to gaps in the project agreement.

He noted that the delays had negatively impacted national football activities, including Sierra Leone’s inability to host certain matches in the ongoing FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

“For the first time in our nation’s history, we accumulated up to 15 points in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers,” he said, adding that the lack of a functional stadium had disadvantaged the country.

Dr. Swaray further appealed for parliamentary intervention and proposed three key solutions for the completion of the project: the involvement of private sector partnerships, the submission of a supplementary budget to government, and stronger political will.

Finally, the Director of Corporate Operations at the NSA, Alie Sesay, presented a detailed brief on the current status of the rehabilitation works to the Committee.