SLFA, FIFA Complete Training for 35 Women’s Football Administrators
Alusine Ahmed Kargbo Thirty-five football administrators from across Sierra Leone have completed a three-day training programme organised by the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), with support from FIFA, to improve the management and development of women’s football.
The workshop, held in Freetown, brought together men and women serving in key administrative roles in women’s football across different regions and districts.
Participants received training in areas including leadership, strategic planning, financial management, sponsorship, project development and community engagement. Other topics covered were safeguarding, sustainable club management, SWOT analysis, action planning, monitoring and evaluation.
SLFA General Secretary Mohamed Benson Bawoh attended the closing ceremony alongside Deputy General Secretary Ishmail Saidu Kanu and Angela Gabidon, secretary of the Marampa Mines Women’s Premier League Board.
Also present was SLFA Women’s Football Manager Elizabeth Alberta Kailey. FIFA facilitators Tsholofelo Candy Setlhoko from Botswana and Thubaelihe Bridgette Sibanda from Zimbabwe led the training sessions.
Addressing participants at the closing ceremony, Bawoh thanked FIFA for supporting the programme. He said administrators needed the right knowledge and professional skills to help implement Sierra Leone’s newly launched Women’s Football Strategy.
FIFA facilitator Sibanda encouraged participants to apply what they had learned in their respective districts and regions to improve the organisation and growth of the women’s game.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Fatima M. Kamara thanked the SLFA and FIFA for the training opportunity. She said the programme had provided practical knowledge and skills that participants could use to improve football administration in their communities.
All 35 participants received certificates endorsed by FIFA and the SLFA after completing the programme.
The training forms part of efforts by the SLFA and FIFA to strengthen the administrative structures supporting women’s football and build the capacity needed to implement Sierra Leone’s first-ever Women’s Football Strategy.