By Kemo Cham
The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has dismissed reports of alleged attack on members of a Liberian female football team.
The allegation was contained in a video that went viral over the weekend, in which members of the Determine Girls, a Monrovia based football club, were heard complaining that they had been subjected to attacks by suspected armed robbers.
The team was participating in the CAF Women’s Champions League Qualifiers, which concluded on Sunday in the southern Sierra Leonean city of Bo.
According to reports, the Liberians accused their local Sierra Leonean rival team – Mogbwemo Queens – who shared the same hotel facility with them – Galliness Hotel, of orchestrating the attacks.
An official of the Determined Girls described the incident as an intimidation tactic, occurring a day before their crucial final match in the tournament against the home team. Grace Weah, President of the Determined Girls FC, was quoted by the Liberian media saying that the attackers were armed security men serving the Mogbwemo Queens. She said the alleged incident left their players feeling unsafe and concerned about their security.
“We’ve faced many challenges on this trip, but this needs public attention. Determined Girls FC is not safe here tonight,” she told Front Page Africa.
The allegation prompted a complaint from the Liberian Football Association (LFA) which, in a statement shared via social media, called on their Sierra Leonean counterpart to ensure protection for the Liberian girls.
SLFA General Secretary told ManoReporters late on Saturday night that they hadn’t received any official complaint from the Liberian FA.
But in a statement issued later on Sunday morning, the Sierra Leone FA said the claims of attack by the Liberians were found to be untrue.
“We categorically refute these claims as baseless and untrue,” the statement signed by SLFA’s Head of Media and marketing, Ibrahim Kamara, said.
According to the Sierra Leone FA, the Determined Girls merely felt unease with the presence of supporters of the Mogbwemo Queens in the corridors of their hotel. It said tension mounted after the Sierra Leoneans sought to secure their section of the hotel from what they felt were black magic placed at their doors by the Liberians prior to their matches.
Security personnel were reportedly deployed at the hotel after the Liberians called for protection.
In the video shared by a Liberian online outlet, which was seen by ManoReporters, some unidentified men were been led away by Sierra Leonean security personnel. But the SLFA said those were supporters of Mogbwemo Queens taken into custody as “precautionary measure.”
The West African Football Union (WAFU) acknowledged the incident, noting that it had mounted an investigation into it.
The WAFU Zone A CAF Women’s Champions League Qualifiers featured five clubs. They included the Aigles De La Medina of Senegal, the Red Scorpions of The Gambia and AS Mandé of Mali.
The Aigles De La Medina of Senegal eventually emerged the winner, with 7 points, which earned them a spot at the CAF Women’s Champions League slated for November in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Senegalese team were followed closely by the Liberians and the Sierra Leoneans with 6 points each, ahead of the Malians and Gambians at the bottom, with 4 points each.
