Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio Congratulates Leone Stars: Urges Sierra Leoneans to Dream Big

President Julius Maada Bio has congratulated Leone Stars on their 1-0 victory over Benin in the crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Conakry, Guinea, urging the nation, from his balcony at State House, to draw inspiration from the win to think big.

Striker Kei Kamara, who had always wished for this feat before his retirement, scored the first-half penalty in the nineteenth minute to secure a place for the national team at the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1996.

“We will continue to strive for higher height, no more small dreams. When I promise, I deliver. I promised that I will take Leone Stars again to the continental stage. This did not come to me as a surprise at all. I believe the boys and I have inspired them enough in the same way I have always wanted to inspire this nation.

“We are a football-loving nation, and I am incredibly happy about this. Just as we trust and believe in ourselves, even out of the football field we can also take this nation to the international level,” he said in a short video released after the match.

“Congratulations to Sierra Leone. We are a football-loving nation, and today, our boys have made history. My government is committed to promoting football and other sports disciplines,” president Bio wrote on Twitter.

Football observers have said that the period 1993 to 1996 can be considered a golden era for Sierra Leone football, arguing that no other Leone Stars team had before or afterward achieved the series of results of that period.

Then as Deputy Chairman of the National Provisional Ruling Council, Julius Maada Bio is credited for inspiring the Leone Stars’ squad of that era to win the Amilcar Cabral trophy twice and to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations twice.

FIFA, CAF Presidents meet with Sierra Leone President: talk infrastructural development

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Sport, Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, welcomed the delegation from the football world governing bodies, saying that it was history in the making that the country was hosting the sitting presidents of FIFA and CAF for the first time.

“I am not surprised. You must have heard about government’s assiduous strides and relentless efforts at developing and supporting football from the grassroots to the national level,” he noted, adding that the present government had supported sport, particularly football, more than all others in the history of Sierra Leone.

While introducing the visitors, the President of Sierra Leone Football Association, SLFA, Isha Johansen, said that their visit was as timely and historic as it was meaningful to the country. She thanked them for choosing Sierra Leone as one of their three Africa nation tours, the others being cote d’ivoire and Liberia.

FIFA’s President Infantino told the gathering that it was an honour and a pleasure to be in Sierra Leone, saying that they were very committed to helping and supporting Africa shine in the world.

“We know how important football is in Africa. Football is talent, football is passion in Africa. In Sierra Leone, in particular, football is not just a game, football is life. I think the time has come where we have to move forward and look into the future.

“FIFA and CAF stand for due process, for integrity, for democracy and to make sure that we can once again put aside all negativities that have tarnished the image of football in the country in the last few years. Let us move to promote a positive and united approach because we need unity in this country,” he urged.

The Swiss and Italian national, who has been president at FIFA since 26 February 2016, also called on all stakeholders to work together to make football very attractive and a way of life. He said everyone needed to work together for the development of the country, particularly in Sierra Leone where football was much more important.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino

CAF’s President Motsepe first thanked President Bio for his honesty, integrity and brotherly exchange of ideas, before calling on all to work together and with him in the best interest of football and a beautiful country.

He confessed that the President represented a new breed of leadership not just for Sierra Leone but for Africa, adding that the country had also produced exceptional football players and expressed hope that it would continue to produce great players. He pledged CAF and FIFA’s commitment to supporting Sierra Leone with the requisite infrastructure to host the African Cup of Nations in the not-too-distant future.

In a brief statement, President Bio welcomed the Presidents of FIFA and CAF to his beautiful country, noting that football remained a fashion that the people of his country loved and cherished.

“It is one of the uniting forces in Sierra Leone. We are very polarised when it comes to politics, but when it comes to football you can see the passion, you can see the joy. It is a different Sierra Leone, especially with football,” he assured.

He also stated that normally when passion clashed, there were always bits of challenges, but emphasised that the country looked forward to an SLFA leadership that would move the country as a nation. He advised that the people should not be deprived of the game that every Sierra Leonean loved.

President Bio further stated that besides the politics of football and the few challenges with regard to infrastructure, the people of his country were friendly and good. He called on the leadership of the two world football governing bodies to invest in the infrastructure of the game in the country. “On behalf of the government and people of Sierra Leone, I want to thank you and would like you to come again. Thank you for coming and you are welcome to Sierra Leone,” he concluded

African Union and FIFA commit to build on positive results and to accelerate collaboration

Two years to the day of signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations, African Union (AU) Chairperson Félix Tshisekedi and FIFA President Gianni Infantino (www.FIFA.com) have discussed an action plan that will accelerate several aspects of the agreement aimed at contributing for the benefit of African society, and, in particular, younger generations.

“I was delighted to speak with AU Chairperson who is a passionate football fan, and as FIFA and the AU have been working together for some time now, I am sure that under Félix Tshisekedi’s leadership our organisations will find ways to reinforce our joint efforts in many areas such as our ‘Football for Schools’ education project, the fight against match manipulation and any form of corruption, as well as safety and security at football matches across the continent,” the FIFA President said.

 “We are encouraged by FIFA’s willingness to engage with Africa, and to use football as a force for good across the continent, and by working as close partners with the AU to ensure that we are playing our part in the continued development of the sport across the African continent,” the AU Chairperson and President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said.

Speaking by videoconference prior to the FIFA Club World Cup final, the two leaders discussed a range of initiatives from the role that football through education can play in developing life skills for children, be that respecting rules and showing respect to match officials, or by encouraging teamwork and cooperation in order to succeed. It was agreed that both AU and FIFA shared a mutual vision for education through football, and further discussions to identify opportunities are now being planned for a face-to-face meeting between both leaders in Kinshasa in the near future. 

The call provided the FIFA President with the opportunity to follow-up on previous discussions with H.E. Félix Tshisekedi’s predecessor, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, and to assure the new AU Chairperson that FIFA and football remain totally committed to maintaining the close cooperation and teamwork that has been built up between both organisations in the past two years.  

The FIFA President also outlined the FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan, while also stressing the important investment made to support the 54 African member associations through FIFA Forward, which has already delivered close to 300 projects across the continent since Gianni Infantino’s first election in 2016.

WHO, FIFA launch joint campaign to equip football community to tackle COVID-19

 FIFA, the international governing body of football, and the World Health Organization (WHO) have teamed up to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) by launching a new awareness campaign led by world-renowned footballers, who are calling on all people around the world to follow five key steps to stop the spread of the disease. 

WHO and FIFA teamed up to combat the coronavirus

The “Pass the message to kick out coronavirus” campaign promotes five key steps for people to follow to protect their health in line with WHO guidance, focused on hand washing, coughing etiquette, not touching your face, physical distance and staying home if feeling unwell. 

“FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino have been actively involved in passing the message against this pandemic since the very beginning,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the virtual launch of the campaign at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “Be it through campaigns or funding, FIFA has stood up to the coronavirus, and I am delighted that world football is supporting WHO to kick out the coronavirus. I have no doubt with this type of support that together we will win.” 

“It starts with your hands,” says Alisson Becker, WHO Goodwill ambassador for health promotion, Liverpool FC and Brazil goalkeeper, and The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, 2019. “Please wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based solution.”

Such frequent washing with soap and water, or preferably with an alcohol-based hand solution, kills viruses that may be on your hands. It is simple, but it is very important.

“Cover your nose and mouth with a bent elbow or tissue when you sneeze or cough,” says Carli Lloyd two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner from the United States. “Dispose of tissue immediately and wash your hands.”

Droplets spread the coronavirus. By following respiratory hygiene, you protect the people around you from contracting viruses, such as cold, flu and coronavirus.

“We need teamwork to combat the coronavirus,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “FIFA has teamed up with WHO because health comes first. I call upon the football community worldwide to join us in supporting this campaign to pass the message even further. Some of the greatest players to have played the beautiful game have put their names to the campaign and are united in their desire to pass the message to kick out COVID-19.”

Twenty-eight players are involved in the video campaign, which is being published in 13 languages.

Sami Al Jaber (KSA), Alisson Becker (BRA), Emre Belözoğlu (TUR), Jared Borgetti (MEX), Gianluigi Buffon (ITA), Iker Casillas (ESP), Sunil Chhetri (IND), Youri Djorkaeff (FRA), Han Duan (CHN), Samuel Eto’o (CMR), Radamel Falcao (COL), Laura Georges (FRA), Valeri Karpin (RUS), Miroslav Klose (GER), Philipp Lahm (GER), Gary Lineker (ENG), Carli Lloyd (USA), Lionel Messi (ARG), Mido (EGY), Michael Owen (ENG), Park Ji-sung (KOR) , Carles Puyol (ESP), Célia Šašić (GER), Asako Takakura (JPN), Yaya Touré (CIV), Juan Sebastián Verón (ARG), Sun Wen (CHN) and Xavi Hernández (ESP).

A video campaign, which will be published on player and FIFA digital channels, is also being provided as individual localized files to the 211 FIFA member associations and media agencies, together with a graphics toolkit for implementation on social media to further pass the message.