The Acting General Secretary of the Sierra Leone Football Association Mohamed Benson Bawoh was yesterday Tuesday September 19 in accompaniment to the Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr. Juldeh Jalloh during a conducted tour to asses the progress of the Siaka Steven Stadium refurbishment project.

Also part of the high-profiled delegation were the Minister of Sports Madam Augusta James-Teima, the Executive Director of the National Sports Authority Dr. Kenneth Brima, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Sierra Leone H.E. Wang Qing, the Director of Competitions of the Sierra Leone Football Association Sorie Ibrahim Sesay and other key Ministry of Sports and National Sports Authority officials.

In his submission during the tour, the Sierra Leone Football Association Acting General Secretary Mohamed Benson Bawoh provided series of professional guides to ensure the renovation exercise falls in line with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) stadium standards.

Key among Benson Bawoh’s recommendations is the installation of individual seats across the full capacity of the stadium which he said “is a non negotiable criteria in the CAF and FIFA stadium approval process”. He pleaded with the Government of Sierra Leone and its Chinese partners to strongly consider this to enable the stadium meet the set international standards.

The SLFA AGS also disclosed to V. P. JuIdeh Jalloh and H. E. Wang Qing about the need to expedite the refurbishment process, which he said is “to give football fans in the country the much craved opportunity to watch Leone Stars play home matches in the upcoming 2026 World Cup Qualifiers at the Siaka Steven Stadium.

The date of completion of the refurbishment, as proposed by the Chinese contractors before they commenced work, is April 2024.