FIFA GOAL PROJECT:

How successful has it been on Sierra Leone football?

By Muctaru Wurie

As was promised by the incumbent FIFA president during his bid to capture the presidency of football’s highest seat, Joseph S. Blatter, the former UEFA supreme, made it a top priority to reach out to the poorer nations of the world football body and enhance their capacity to develop and harness their footballing potentials.

On attaining the presidency, Blatter hailed the programme as a means of deepening and expanding the development assistance provided by FIFA to its member national associations, which until then had focused mainly on the delivery of education programmes, such as Futuro I and II.

GOAL was ratified in 1999 in Los Angeles at FIFA’s Extraordinary Congress and is today a key improvement programme of FIFA. It places administrative, technical, and importantly financial resources, at the disposal of FIFA’s 204 members for their use in development projects.

It was discovered that the majority of development countries, especially in Africa, lacked the infrastructure and technical abilities to effectively enhance the status of the cherished game of football.

Sierra Leone being among these countries was no exception. Although there was much needed boost in the game when the NPRC regime took power back in 1992, the civil war intensified in the mid 1990s. Therefore, when the GOAL Africa Programme was launched it was viewed as a necessity by majority of football observers across the country. The late Standard Times Sport editor, Ibrahim Barrie, wrote back in 2001 that the programme, if well implemented, could be a panacea to the problems faced by football in the country.

“Sierra Leone football at this moment is in dire need of essential infrastructure and technical support to develop its football capacity; we just hope that the Goal Project fulfils that very important prerequisite,” noted Barrie in a sport commentary.

At the laying of foundation stone ceremony for the construction of a national training and education centre at Kingtom, the then SLFA president, Justice M. Tholla Thompson said : “It is difficult to explain just how important the FIFA Financial Assistance Programme and GOAL Programmes are, but they, however, provide proof of FIFA’s commitment to promote football all around the world, especially in poorer nations. FIFA really is a global family.”

But years after the completion of some of the crucial aspect of the FIFA GOAL programme for Sierra Leone, questions have been raised as to how sustainable and productive the programme is.

After construction work was completed on the football association’s headquarters, financed by the FIFA Financial Assistance Programme, on 29 October 2001, the GOAL Bureau further approved the construction of a national training and education centre in Freetown. The almost half a million US dollar facility, which was actually intended to be used primarily for training young players, coaches, referees, administrators and medical personnel from football clubs, regional bodies and the  association itself, have so far been used for most of the abovementioned purpose. However, there have been complains recently by most players and officials using the complex that most of the facilities that were there at the new structure are no longer there. One player of a local side which had camped there on four occasions told me that, to their disappointment, most of the amenities they enjoyed in the newly built structure have disappeared.

“At first water used to go up, but now it’s no longer the case. We have to come down and fetch water for ourselves. Also the television with the DSTV facilities we used to enjoy are gone. Worst of all are the beds, they are now filled with bugs,” the player said.

He said when they complained they were warned to shut up.

The complex, which was also intended to be used as a base by national teams at various levels and top clubs in Sierra Leone during preparations for international matches and training camps, have seen several of such camping in recent times but one local coach I spoke with said the drop in the condition of the amenities makes it very difficult for any more of such camping, especially by any of the national sides.

However, SLFA Administrative Secretary Abubakarr Kabba told me that in the case of the TV set, they were only removed for ‘safe keeping’ because of what he referred to as ‘ill act’ by some clubs coming from the provinces whom he accused of stealing some of the TV sets.

In the case of the two pricey artificial turfs provided by FIFA, they are yet to be laid; notwithstanding the fact that other neighbouring countries have already started using theirs. Nevertheless, SLFA President, Nahim Khadi, disclosed to me that the turfs have still not been fixed because the experts are yet to arrive. The present state of the pitch at the Football Academy grounds, Kingtom, is so appalling that players find it very hard to train on the pitch especially during the rainy season. However, no FIFA official could respond to questions whether the delay in the fixing of the pitch is due to their fault or not. An email sent to a FIFA information officer by this writer was not be responded to.

Under the GOAL project, each association, regardless of size, received USD 1 million to be invested in football development for the four year cycle 1999-2002. The regional confederations, such as CAF, received USD 10 million each for the same period. The same amount was paid to the associations and Confederations for the 2003-2006 period to fund worthwhile projects based on long-term plans for the member associations; meaning that the SLFA has been benefiting US$250,000 annually since 1999. Although SLFA officials have been very tight-lipped when it comes to finances, with regards to the management of GOAL Project finances Chairman of FIFA Finance Committee Julio H. Grondona, indicates that the execution of major project operation are clearly monitored by the GOAL Bureau, but other minor aspect, maintenance and other post implementation projects are the full responsibility of the local FA. So if even there are cases of misappropriation of funds it would be very hard to prove under an FA administration that is not open to public scrutiny.

In addition, as from 2005, SLFA and other FAs in developing countries were compelled to set at least 10% aside, in other words USD 25,000, to  promote women’s football. FIFA officials had pointed out that this unequivocal financial commitment and insistence on a coherent programme from each association and confederation, women’s football will undergo enormous progress over the next few years.

But as far as women football in Sierra Leone is concerned, help seems to be a distance dream. The female leagues that were thriving are no longer here. Disappointingly, until recently, there were no apparent attempts to restore female football in Sierra Leone.

So far about 16 people including SLFA staffs, local coaches and instructors have benefited from the technical programme under the project but unlike in Mali for instance, where instructors and coaches that have benefited from GOAL programmes are training other local stakeholders, Sierra Leone’s GOAL has yet to undertake such route. And looking at a country where you have hundreds of personnel in the field of football, 16 trained personnel would inevitably make little impact in the management and development of the game locally.

Last year, visiting FIFA inspector, Mr M Kaplan and a FIFA Ghanaian coach gave a very down beat assessment of the success of the GOAL programme when they highlighted the absence amongst the local football clubs. They also cited the lack of training grounds, fax and email addresses for the nation’s clubs in the premier league.

Also another aspect that has been a key in the programme’s scheme in developing the game of football has not well been used by football authorities in the country. The use of video technology in learning crucial style and tactic of the game and opponents is one that has not well been used. Although there are facilities within the structures of the football academy for such purposes, such procedures have rarely been used.