By Francis Kamara
The Sierra Leone’s Minister of Sports, Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, on Tuesday 8th February, 2022, at Orange-SL headquarters at IMATT, hailed Orange-SL, the biggest mobile network in the country for promoting and building a solid foundation for football in the country, in addition to taking a giant step by signing an MOU to sponsor four football clubs in the Sierra Leone Premier League with one billion Leones plus other support.
in his keynote address, he expressed his profound thanks and appreciation to Orange-SL. He mentioned that this is not the first time Orange-SL is supporting sports. He added that Orange-SL has also rendered support to other sporting disciplines in Sierra Leone. He urged the four privileged premier league clubs to take advantage of this golden opportunity. He admonished them to play by the rules and respect the MOU agreement, and not to misuse the chance as there are other clubs hungry for such an amazing opportunity.
The minister went on to say that he has been advocating for other clubs to also benefit from this opportunity, and promised to continue his advocacy campaign in order to see that majority of the premier league clubs benefit from the good gestures of Orange-SL. He urged Orange-SL to embark on massive sporting infrastructure, as the country lacks many things in terms of sports.
The CEO for Orange Sierra Leone, Mrs. Aminata Kane, acknowledged that football is part of Sierra Leone’s DNA. She expressed her love for football and affirmed that it has served as a mechanism to bring people together in good and bad times. She added that football has thrived because of the love emanating from the people, the resilience and dedication of the clubs, the players, coaches, cheerful fans, and the support of the government.
Mrs. Aminata Kane, acknowledged that Orange-SL has plans to support other premier league clubs, but that they are starting with these four clubs in order to take things slow and work on a profitable relationship for the betterment of football in Sierra Leone.
She went on to say that Orange Sierra Leone is supportive and strengthening ideas, initiatives and projects that are geared towards bringing joy and laughter to the lives of people and organizations, as well as ultimately fostering improvement and development in Sierra Leone. She added that the sponsorship and partnership idea has been in existence between Orange-SL and the football clubs for three years and they want to keep improving on it. She affirmed that the goal is to see that through Orange-SL, the beautiful game of football will grow in all aspects, as the association will be strengthened.
She added that the partnership and sponsoring of the four football clubs; FC KALLON, FC JOHANSEN, DIAMOND STARS and WUSUM STARS, is a step in the right direction for the growth of football. She acknowledged that the MOU with these clubs is for three years and that Orange-SL will broadcast all the games of these four clubs on all Orange partner TV and radio stations and Push SMS with links to watch the game live. She added that they will also provide support to show key matches live on the Orange-SL page, with provision of 2 speed box and 100GB monthly, making internet constantly accessible. Players and club profiling, she said will also be done, in addition to Orange-SL’s financial support of over Le. 1 billion. She hoped for a great partnership, adding that she believes that this is a continuation of beautiful things.
On his own part, the Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority, Dr. Abdul Rahman Swarray, affirmed that the duty of the NSA is to promote, develop, and encourage all sporting disciplines in Sierra Leone. He mentioned that Orange-SL has a big heart and that they are associated with football in which they have spent a lot of resources for the development of football in Sierra Leone. He also encouraged Orange-SL to embark on supporting other sporting disciplines in the country as that in itself will be a big financial boost for the mobile network.
Speaking on behalf of FC KALLON, the Secretary General, Alhaji Komba affirmed that this is kind of a continuation for them, as their current crop of players rose through the football ranks because of a competition organized by Orange-SL over ten years ago.
Malik Pascal, a representative of FC JOHANSEN, expressed his delight and utmost appreciation to Orange-SL. He mentioned that FC JOHANSEN has been partners with Orange-SL for many years, and that they are proud to have renewed that partnership with Orange-SL for the betterment of football in the country. He promised that FC JOHANSEN will make great use of this opportunity to unlock many more from the mobile company.
Tamba Kaingbanja, the General Manager of DIAMOND STARS Football Club, acknowledged that this is their first experience in terms of such sponsorship. He added that securing sponsorship has been a major problem for many teams in Sierra Leone, and that as a club they are extremely happy to have been considered by Orange-SL for such a wonderful opportunity. He urged the mobile company to also include other premier league clubs as time goes by, as he believes that will strengthen football in the nation.
The representative of WUSUM STARS Football Club, Papa Bangura, expressed his profound thanks and appreciation to Orange-SL, adding that this is a dream come true for football loving fans in Sierra Leone, to see a big institution sponsoring football clubs in the country. He affirmed that his football club will make great use of the opportunity and that they look forward to getting much more from the mobile company.
There were statements by the Chief Marketing Officer ORANGE-SL Abdoulaye Dia , and Head of Public Relation Annie Katta. The event which attracted lots of sports loving fans ended with the signing of the MOU between Orange-SL and the four premier league clubs.
Credit: Owl Newspaper
