Head of Physical Education at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, southern region, Fatmata Fatima Banya has committed her office to the promotion and sustainability of cricket in Bo District.
She made this pronouncement on Tuesday while addressing a delegation from Cricket Sierra Leone (CSL) at the symbolic launch of the Bo Cricket Club at CKC School in Bo.
Banya told CSL’s Acting General Manager Chrispin Ekundayo George that cricket had picked up speed and momentum when things started falling apart. “We want you to do more to keep the game alive here. By expressing the need to create a regional cricket club, we see the start of a sustainable process,” she said. she appreciated the leadership of CSL for not giving up on the game in Bo.
Manager George said the four-day regional tour is also meant to assess the state of the cricket facilities in the region and to see what could be done to keep them in good shape. “Once we get the necessary human resources in place, the game will sell itself here. That is why we are here to get the data on all the PE teachers in Bo District so that we can train them to register more participants from schools for the cricket entry-level programme. We should have cricket to play here by the very locals,” he said.
CSL’s Cricket Development Officer Edward Marah guided the PE teachers using the ICC data-capturing app. He distributed registration forms among them to collect the data of 1,000 pupils.
The delegation then toured the Bo School cricket facility, which has been enormously impacted by other sporting disciplines. The outfield has been tampered with, one of the sight-screening stolen, and the training net has grown bushes while the pitch remains covered with grass.
Determined to end this, Manager George immediately appointed Madam Banya to serve as the Bo District Cricket Development Officer to oversee cricket activities in Bo and to preserve the facility there.