The coronavirus pandemic has left female football in a precarious position. Although the suspension of sporting activities in Sierra Leone applied equally to both men’s and women’s competitions, there will be deeper and more far-reaching consequences for women’s football.
Sierra Leonean female players have shared some insights into how they are keeping their dream of being professional footballers especially as the Coronavirus interrupted the society.
Martha Conteh, a former captain of the senior national female football team, and now a licence C coach, said that the pandemic has ravaged the country, and has put football related activities on hold leaving their young dreams dangling on a string of uncertainty. She urged female footballers to engage on rigorous individual training and fitness conditioning at home and adhere to preventive measures, set by the government to avoid contracting the new coronavirus.
Rashida Kamara,who is a player for Mahmud F.C. and currently on loantoEarth Angels,the current champions of the Liberian FemaleFootball League, said that since the end of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) tournament, life has been difficult for her and her colleagues.
“It has been difficult for me I had to stay at home, missing my teammates, the management and everything on the pitch.
“I have been doing my regular routine every day, …doing my fitness training,” she said. She added that her relatives rely on her, but now she cannotafford for them through football because all sport related activities have been discontinued.”
She said that she avoids crowded places and wash her hands regularly to protect herself from COVID-19 because without life she would not be able to play football.
Fatmata Samuel Turay, who plays as a striker for Mahmud F.C., also recounts a similar story. She used to support her siblings but now faces difficulties in doing so because in her words “the government and Football Association are not doing anything to help our situation. She was part of the team that played in the 2020WAFUZone-A Women’s Championship.
She admits that she finds it difficult to self-motivate herself to train. “I sometimes feel lazy to train, but I try as much as possible because I cannot stay without training,” she said
Isata Kamarasays: “I am doing my personal training in keeping myself fit so that when football resumes I will be fully fit for my team and the country.” She refers to the football pitch as her “office”, and commented that she misses it badly, and pleaded with the government of Sierra Leone to give them the opportunity to go back to the pitch. “Since Sierra Leone recorded it first index case on March 31, 2020, I have been in a worried mood, because I am justat home with no active football,” she said, adding “Everything has changed drastically. No active football, and we cannot even train as a team anymore because of the ban on social gatherings.”
Captain of Sierra Leone Police F.C, Zainab Max Macauley said that COVID-19 has impacted them so drastically that financially they feel insecure to such an extent that they are not getting money to settle their most basic needs as women. She said that female footballers are not getting the required attention needed and their lives do not match those of persons who fit the description as role models who may find the profession interesting. “When football comes to an unexpected halt, female players suffer the most because without frequent training it is very difficult for girls to come back fit,” she said.
“We are calling on the government of Sierra Leone to resume sporting activities in the country as lots of qualifying areunderway for both the male and the female football teams and also other sporting disciplines,”she added.
Musu ‘Pele’ Bangura,the first female footballer in Sierra Leone to go international, is an iconic figure to upcoming female footballers in the country. She empathized with upcoming female footballers who are suffering the long interruption in the development at a crucial period in the development of their young careers. “Yes indeed the coronavirus has affected them and also everybody who one way or the other is involved in sports,” she said, adding that during her days, she did not have such a difficult time, but still encourage young female footballers to take their individual work very seriously. She expressed hope that the virus will soon come to an end. She added that as she has been appointed as team manager of Sierra Leone’s Under 20 female team, she would love to see the girls playing very well.
Victoria Conteh,former Sierra Leonean footballer and now Coach, said,“We will soon return back to the game we all loved, so make sure you continue your regular self- training to keep fit,” she advised all female footballers.
“As a player, even if there’s a ban on social gathering it does not mean that you have to sit idle at home, not training or keeping fit. You have to train on your own, because as a professional, you need to be in shape. You don’t have to wait for someone to tell you to train before you do,” she asserted.
She has been appointed as the National Team Women’s (U-20) Head Coach; and she added: “I personally believe starting the league afresh after COVID-19 is the best option. For far too long we have not got a full structured league in the country. I pray we can overcome this global pandemic soon for things to go back to normal,” she concluded.
Recently, in a bid to strengthen football in the country, the international football bodies, CAF and FIFA announced US$1.3 million support to football, as COVID-19 relief package.
By Desmond Tunde Coker
25/8/2020. ISSUE NO: 7894