FIFA To Lift Sierra Leone Ban

FIFA will consider lifting Sierra Leone’s suspension from international football after the corruption case against the country’s FA President, Isha Johansen is concluded in court.
Last week, Fifa officials, including Secretary General Fatma Samoura, met with Johansen and the Sierra Leone government to address the issue.
“Fifa will wait for the completion of the trial before further measures can be considered, including the lifting of the suspension, if deemed appropriate,” said a Fifa statement.
Johansen is facing trial along with Sierra Leone FA (SLFA) General Secretary Christopher Kamara. Both deny the charges.
The Sierra Leone government sent a high-level delegation, including vice-president Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, attorney general and Minister of Justice Priscilla Schwartz and Lansana Gberie, Sierra Leone’s ambassador to Switzerland.
Sports minister Ibrahim Nyelenkeh did not attend.
Fifa suspended Sierra Leone two weeks ago because of third-party interference in the running of the SLFA, saying that the ban would be lifted once Johansen and Kamara are reinstated.
The ban came after the country’s anti-corruption commission (ACC) set aside Johansen and Kamara and handed over control of the SLFA to vice-president Brima Mazola Kamara and assistant secretary general Abdul Rahman Swarray.
The ACC says that under Sierra Leone law, both Johansen and Kamara must vacate their posts until their case on corruption-related charges concludes.
The alleged corruption charges against Johansen were drastically reduced in court early last week from ten to three, and from four to three for Kamara.
Sierra Leone’s Africa Cup of Nations double-headers with Ghana, which were set to be played between 11-14 October, had to be cancelled and will not be rescheduled because of the suspension.
Other outstanding issues that have led to a long-running dispute within the SLFA were discussed during the Zurich meeting and resolutions were taken.
These include a key match-fixing investigation of 15 players and officials who have been indefinitely suspended since 2014, the conduct of integrity tests on elected officials and a roadmap that will lead to the election of new SLFA executive committee.