By Francis Kamara
After years absence and disintegration, the Sierra Leone Women’s Premier League Board, in partnership with the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), have paved the way for the 2022/23 Sierra Leone female premier league to commence today Saturday 15th 2022, at the Wusum Mini stadium in Makeni.
12 teams will partake in the 2022/23 Sierra Leone Female Premier League, with a home and away fixture. 8 From the Regions and 4 from Western Area.
Fans are in celebratory mood and thousands of Sierra Leoneans have started the journey to Makeni to grace this campaign.
Football in Sierra Leone has been widely dominated by men, with little or no emphasis or focus being placed on women. This is a dawn of a new era for women and girls and despite the financial challenges, the board is very determined to see it through.
To breach the gap of inclusivity and promote female football, under the astute leadership of the chairperson of the Sierra Leone Women’s Premier League Board, Asmaa James, has taken a giant step in building a strong foundation for the promotion and development of female football in Sierra Leone.
In an interview with Owl Sports, Asmaa James highlighted that she is set to break the glass ceiling in female football in Sierra Leone, and take it to the next level – people believe the place for the woman is in the kitchen, they don’t believe they can make something out of life through sports, but they are set to break that barrier and give women and girls a voice through football.
Asmaa James, who is reckoned to be the First Lady for Female Football in Sierra Leone, has taken the project to an upward positive trajectory. “It’s a huge burden, but it’s a sacrifice we have to make on our part,” she said.
She added that it has taken more than a decade since the female premier league was organized, and there’s been no emphasis on female football over the years – she affirmed that together with her board members, they would ensure that 2022/23 Sierra Leone Female premier league becomes the best ever national female premier league to be organized in Sierra Leone.
Some of the female footballers have expressed their gratitude and thanks to the Sierra Leone Women’s Premier League Board and the Sierra Leone Football Association, for giving them a lifeline to play football.
They acknowledged that most of them depend on football for their survival and to take care of their families – for some others, football is life and it’s their passion.
Rashidatu Aminata Kamara, a female professional footballer who plays for the Sierra Leone female national team (Sierra Queens), acknowledged that it’s a beautiful time for women in Sierra Leone.
She added that football is a sport that was pioneered and dominated by men, but it’s a sport that has been perfected by women.
She concluded that she is in high spirits and very happy for women in Sierra Leone, as the female premier league kicks off on Saturday 15th October 2022.
She urged other top institutions to come onboard and support female football in Sierra Leone, as that will help in empowering women and girls.
