The saying, give people their flowers while they are still alive resonates with the view that Sierra Leoneans should express love, gratitude and appreciation to Madam Isha Johansen for her impact in the ongoing implementation of the SLFA FIFA artificial Turf Project.
The Former SLFA President and FIFA committee member has come a long way in breaking barriers as far as Sierra Leone’s narrative is concerned.
As far back as the early nineties before Sierra Leone’s civil war, she was the first Sierra Leonean publisher with a coloured magazine called RAPTURE MAGAZINE. It captured the International media interests and courted international celebrities like boxing legend Muhammon Ali, super model Iman, head of States ,and many more. She was also the first to host The PINK BALL Breast Cancer Awareness Ball, donating two Mammogram and an Ultra Sound machine for less privileged women in Sierra Leone. One cannot forget the Women of Excellence Awards also celebrating and giving recognition to women from all walks of life.
In her strive to develop the game back home during her tenure as SLFA President, Madam Johansen and her led executive were able to secure the the FIFA Artificial turf project for Sierra Leone. On the 22nd May 2021 at a press conference held at the Bintumani Hall, Aberdeen Freetown, Johansen officially announced four (4) new FIFA Approved Artificial Turf Projects to be carried out across the country simultaneously. That day, many described the said pronouncement as a dawn of a new era in Sierra Leone Football.
The 4 venues to be given a face lift under the said projects are; SLFA Academy (Kingtom), Approved School (Western Area), Lungi Central Field and the Coronation Field (Bo).
The FIFA Council Member further announced the decision of the SLFA Executive Committee to transform the Port Loko Town Field into a state of the art (26,000 capacity) playing facility which will eventually be the country’s Football Federation Stadium.
Additionally, maintenance work was also approved to commence at the Kono Artificial turf pitch as the installation of floodlights and construction of the outside perimeter fence at the Kenema Town Field are underway.
FIFA Development Manager for West and Central Africa- El Hadj Wack Diop also arrived in on Wednesday September 1, 2021 arrived in Freetown to conduct an inspection tour on the five proposed SLFA Artificial Turf Project sites -SLFA Academy Grounds, Approved School Playing Field in Freetown, Lungi Playing Field, Port Loko Mini Stadium and the Bo Coronation Field.
This inspection by the FIFA Development Manager, Diop, was to finalize the necessary arrangements and technicalities to ensure the commencement of work on the said sites.
As the current SLFA President – Thomas Daddy Brima and his Executive Committee working assiduously to see the full implantation of the said Project, the contractors are simultaneously and expeditiously constructing the five top-notch playing facilities across Sierra Leone to help defeat the longstanding problem of infrastructure in the country’s football.
The Sierra Leone Football Association recently updated the Public that the Project Manager of Edel Grass- Mark Jonkers who is overseeing the ongoing FIFA Artificial Turf Pitches construction in Sierra Leone revealed that the SLFA Academy and the Port Loko playing fields are set to soon turn green, citing February ending as the deadline for completion of work. Meanwhile, the SLFA Academy has been completed while the Port Loko playing field is still ongoing.
The said projects, upon completion, will see a full package of a state-of-the-art artificial turf, floodlight, perimeter fence, 100KVA generator, and 100-seater pavilion at the SLFA Academy Field, Approved School Field, Port Loko Town Field, and Bo Coronation Field.
Over the Past year, a large number of pitches have been built across Africa with support of the FIFA forward Development Programme as Part of it efforts to develop the game globally. However, even new pitches can quickly fall into despair if they are not given the proper maintained, especially In a Continent with a Variety of Challenging climatic conditions. To ensure the new pitches have not been in Vain, in June 2023, FIFA organized a first-ever pitch maintained workshop for CAF Member Association, held at the Football Complex V1 of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in Rabat.
Understanding the power of football, as a unifying tool that can harness peace and harmony to flourish , these Pioneering initiatives of Johansen have served as an indelible legacy in the minds of Sierra Leone that women can make a significant change when given the opportunity to lead .
