Babadi Kamara Could Transform Football In Sierra Leone
By :Mohamed Macarthy (Media Carth)
The aspiration of Bo Rangers Football Club’s Executive Chairman, Babadi Kamara, for the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Presidency has been received with high hopes and optimisms from meaningful sport loving Sierra Leoneans, taking into cognizance the prevailing leadership quagmire that SLFA faces over the years, which has had ripple effects on Leone Stars’ Male National Team, as well as some of the domestic leagues across the country.
Few years back, when domestic leagues were being withheld on the basis of leadership struggle or supremacy in SLFA; but in 2018-2019, when President Bio revamped the domestic leagues, it marked a U-Turn in the history of football in Sierra Leone, leading to equally identifying some of the country’s potential talents and showcase them to the world. At that moment; Babadi Kamara deemed it prudent to join forces with other personalities in Bo City and beyond to give their fullest attention to the current defending champions of Sierra Leone Premier League, then (SLPL) and now Leone Rock Premier League (LRPL), Bo Rangers FC.
His presence as Executive Chairman for Bo Rangers FC has evolved and overhauled the structure of the team and has made it very compelling and admirable in the midst of renowned FCs at both national and international levels, thereby creating huge indelible blueprints in the football arena.
Babadi’s exemplary and exceptional leadership acumen and nimbleness has taken Bo Rangers FC to an international limelight on two consecutive occasions, with an impressive and scintillating performance from the players, despite the fact that they were unable to move to the ultimate peak of those tournaments, as expected from Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad. His aspiration for the highest position in the football landscape is borne out of his firm desire to put necessary and formidable infrastructures in place that will help transform and rebrand the national team, and local Football Clubs being highly recognized and represented in most international matches.
In 2021, when Babadi was appointed as the Leone Stars Male National Team Manager, the National Team was already being qualified for the AFCON in Cameroon. It was a jubilant and reverberating mood for the team to re-surface on the global arena. He led the Leone Stars Delegation to Cameroon, and there again, he inspired and motivated the entire team, which apparently helped the players to put up their very best in the tournament, ending decades of absence from the tournaments due to the abysmal performance from both the team and management.
As someone who means well for the growth of football and other related sporting activities in Sierra Leone and by way of pragmatizing it, he had singlehandedly constructed an ultramodern mini stadium, the Southern Arena in Bo City, with a considerable sitting accommodation. The Southern Arena had been certified by FIFA to host international matches. Irrespective of the fact that BBD focused his entire support on the Bo Rangers FC; he often extends his goodwill gestures to other FCs across the country, as a way of bolstering the welfare of the teams.
Babadi’s aspiration for SLFA’s Presidency in 2025 is a clarion call and turning point in the history of football in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has gotten potential players who are fully determined to raise the national flag high on the global stage. However, many Sierra Leoneans believe that they have not got fair and reasonable leaderships that would work in the best interest of various sporting disciplines in the country. SLFA has not been able to provide the incredible administrative leadership required.
They are being surrounded with huge shenanigans and kickbacks. This has led to the disgraceful performance in most of our international matches. With Babadi in the race, as one of the kingpin aspirants, it is expected that his Presidency will be an incredible bastion and beacon of hope for all Sierra Leoneans. BBD is determined and committed in making sure Leone Stars and other local Football Clubs would be highly represented at international level. Sierra Leoneans, we are faced with two crossing paths, with the incumbent, who has not done much, and BBD who has already exhibited his outstanding leadership drive, with undeniable proven track record that has made him the most apt for the SLFA Presidency. A visionary, transformational and integrity leadership is what SLFA needs and nothing else.