Vickie Remoe Institute of Digital Communications

Johansen, first woman, for president of Sierra Leone Football Association

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Isha Johansen

AfricanSportsTV  has reported that Isha Johansen may contest for president of Sierra Leone’s Football Association (SLFA). Johansen is the current owner and CEO of a football club in Sierra Leone’s Premiere League that bears her name. In recent years she has made major contributions to the promotion of the game of football. Johanssen pioneered the annual African International Youth Tournament in 2009 and has since brought in teams from as far away as Brazil, South Africa, and Norway to play at national stadium in Freetown.

(c) Sierra Express Media: Isha Johansen watching her team play on a dirt pitch in Sierra Leone

Johansen who is known as much for football as philanthropy is often times the only woman on the pitch. When she first started F.C Johanssen back in 2004 few in the the nation’s football industry took her seriously. Then 4 years later Johansen and her team represented Sierra Leone at the annual Mittnorden Cup in Sweden where they won the silver medal. While many were surprised at the young “unknown” team’s performance, they were equally impressed that all of the players returned home.

FC Johansen with David Beckam when he visited Sierra Leone

The task of managing a football team is small when compared to that of handling and directing football at a national level. But Isha Johansen has repeatedly shown that not only will she not take “no” for an answer, she also knows how to leverage her resources to make things happen. And that is the kind of spirit that Sierra Leone football needs.  If Johansen decides to run and is elected in July she will become the first Sierra Leonean woman to head Sierra Leone’s Football Association. Now wouldn’t that be grand!

 

6 comments

  1. Cecil Williams 12 April, 2012 at 11:41 Reply

    She definitely has my vote for SLFA President for pulling off something like that. At least someone who wants to progress the talents of the young in Sierra leone utilizing soccer as branding platform. Wish her and mama salone all the best in this endeavor.

  2. John Balogun 18 April, 2012 at 18:47 Reply

    This is a case of let the deserving candidate get shoed in. Whether a woman or not she has sufficiently demonstrated her willingness to get things done and the capacity to deliver on the big occassions. Again if as is often the case they turn around and impose a man again where none of the men inthe past have provred worthy then again we would have failed. It is not beacuse a man has Msc or PHD he therefoe has the qualities to occupy a position notre that he was a football would he make a good FA boss. We have coaches to train the teams but we need visionaries at the helm to steer the FA forward.
    It will be the biggest blunder and shame if this chance is missed to elect someone who cares and is progressive

  3. William Murphy 4 June, 2012 at 20:09 Reply

    I would like to congratulate Isha. Its incredible that she used her personal resources to MAKE this happen. I totally get where she is coming from. Football is an international language, sport in general promotes so much positiveness.
    I worked in Salone on and off for two years at the end of the war, when i returned home to my Native Scotland all people wanted to talk about was diamonds and the associated horrors. Yet all i could speak of was a vibrancy i had never before witnessed in what was a brutalized nation. The talent is there, the desire is there, it’s time to move on. This is inspiring, i wonder just how much of the lack of corporate support was down to Isha being female, academic, well bred and rich. Im guessing too many noses are out of joint.

  4. JIMMY HALLOWELL 22 March, 2013 at 15:15 Reply

    I’m very happy for Mrs Isha to be the first woman president in football,in Sierra Leone.May God bless her and provide 4 her.

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