The Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association has affirmed his commitment to making cricket attractive to women and other categories through collaborative support.

Sheku Alim Cawray expressed delight in his recent appointment stating:

“The appointment is an opportunity to lead the organization in its mission to promote cricket in Sierra Leone, I am committed to developing the sport and creating a positive impact on the lives of young people especially the women of Sierra Leone. I am confident that with the right resources and support, we can make a real difference in the lives of our players and fans”

He indicated that the Sierra Leone Cricket Association is committed to making the sport visible in the provinces citing the project of developing a cricket ground in the Kenema Government Secondary School field is in its completion including the implementation of several other projects

“We are very determined to make this happen and have already taken several steps to do so, for the Eastern Province we have been working with schools administrations to introduce cricket to the schools in these areas. We have an ongoing project in Kenema where we are developing a cricket playing ground at the Government Secondary School field, the project is almost at the finish point” he ascribed

CEO Cawray further that “Last year in October we organized a 3 days coaching beginners course for 100 PHE teachers right across the Eastern Region 60 teachers from Kenema, 20 teachers from Kono, and 20 teachers from Kailahun” he disclosed

He added that earlier in February this year, they distributed cricket equipment to over 28 schools in the Eastern Province, registering over 1000 pupils between the ages of 12-15 years in Bo and Kenema alone,

“We plan to replicate these projects in another part of the country before the end of this year and as much as we have the available funds, we are confident that with continued effort, we will be able to make cricket a more visible sport in these areas” he opined

He also established that the Women’s T20 Premier League and Division One tournaments commenced two weeks and are not unconnected in the quest for the sport to be attractive to the young girls under his leadership

“We are committed to making cricket more attractive to young girls and have implemented several initiatives to achieve this goal. We have increased the visibility of the tournaments by providing more media coverage and creating a more engaging atmosphere for the players, we have also increased the number of teams participating in the tournaments, which has allowed more girls to get involved” CEO Sheku Alim Cawray revealed.

Finally, Cawray assured that plans are underway to organize a mentorship program for the young girls,

“With the arrival of the foreign coach, we are planning to implement a mentorship program to help young girls develop their skills and gain confidence in the sport. We are confident that these initiatives will help make cricket more attractive to young girls” he concluded.