Sports

"Leone Stars’ performance not surprising," Algasimu Jah

By  | 8 September 2010 at 02:47 | 2847 views

The Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports has expressed his utmost satisfaction over the performance of the Leone Stars national football team last Sunday against Africa’s number one football nation Egypt in their 2012 AFCON qualifiers. It was a hectic draw.

Speaking to PV on transit at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Dr. Algasimu Jah said he was optimistic that with such fantastic display of talents he described as the ‘Dream Team’, the future is bright for Sierra Leone football or soccer.

"I believe if they continue with this team spirit they’ll go places not only in Africa but at a global level," he said.

"My Ministry" he added, "has been very supportive in promoting sports and football in particular for young talents in the country and has provided 65% of the total funding to motivate the national team. My presence with the team has also created a lot of motivation for our our players though there were some hiccups about the team’s captainship but we were able to overcome them all in the spirit of sportsmanship and for the love of our beloved country."

The Deputy Minister pledged his ministry’s total support in promoting not only football but also other sporting activities including athletics at institutional level including schools, colleges and universities. This, he explained, will engage the youth in exhibiting their God-given talents and putting their country on the global map in the area of sports.

Sierra Leone’s Deputy Consul General in Kenya Mr. Abdul Kargbo who played host to the national team during the few hours’ transit in Nairobi expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Leone Stars team noting that their efforts and performance have brought the country to the global football map for being such great opponents to the Egyptian side.

"Most people," he said, "looked down on our national team as an underdog facing Egypt; but we have proved our detractors wrong."

Kargbo also thanked the team’s management and the technical team for taking Leone Stars to such a height noting that Sierra Leone is now one of the countries in the world that has proved that local coaches can make it without any foreign intervention.

The Deputy Consul finally admonished the Leone Stars to continue with their team work devoid of personal challenges in the interests of the country and as patriots.

Photo: Dr. Algasimu Jah, left, and Deputy Consul Abdul Kargbo.

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