The 1st Vice President of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), Harold Nat-Johnson, has paid a visit to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to fraternize with the hierarchy of the Association with the aim at building a strong partnership in the areas of structure re-organisation, competitions improvement and management, National Team structuring for qualification to International competitions among others.
Harold Nat-Johnson, who was received by the GFA President, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku and General Secretary, Prosper Harrison Addo, Esq. admitted the visit is the first of many as his country seeks for new models to get things done right. He reiterated that Ghana has blazed the trail in key areas of football management on the African continent over the years and the SLFA deems it fit to understudy Ghana in their restructuring process.
He also touched on the absence of Sierra Leone from the Africa Cup of Nations over the years which has been a major concern to the people.
“We have been absent from AFCON for 25 years and will like to pick up lessons from the success story of the consistent appearance at the AFCON by our big brothers, the Ghana Football Association. We would like to also initiate a number of engagements to enable us to study your league systems, competitions including the women’s game. It was resolved at the Executive meeting to get the Ghanaian story on how things are done’’. he added
On behalf of the GFA, President Simeon-Okraku expressed the readiness to receive the SLFA and also to share ideas for mutual gains.
‘’I am very happy you are here, obviously we have a lot in common and I am sure there is a lot to share among ourselves and a lot to learn from each other. President Simeon-Okraku said.
‘’We started this journey almost two years ago trying to stabilize the football eco-system after a while and its gradually gaining grounds. For the first time in three years, we have been able run all our competitions including the Premier League, Division One and the Women’s League successfully.
‘’The Regional Leagues and Juvenile Leagues are almost completed so it has been a big plus for us. At the National front, we won the WAFU U-20 Cup and the African Cup (U20) and that has been a big boost for us. All our departmental heads have been duly informed and will be on the lookout for your next visit. We have also learned from our years of turbulence and I am very happy you are here today’’. he added
Harold Nat-Johnson has scheduled a number of meetings with various departmental heads for his next visit to the GFA in the coming months.
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