Commentary

Many stakeholders in the Sierra Leone Football family and other concerned citizens have called for stringent measures to be taken against the two disqualified presidential aspirants - incumbent Thomas Daddy Brima and Ms. Aminata Bangura - including arrest, for the mockery of the country’s image and their diabolical attempts to undermine the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Elective Congress scheduled for August 2, 2025.

Despite both disqualified aspirants being quite aware of the fact that there is enough evidence to find them wanting for the disqualification, they have gone ahead to challenge the decision of the SLFA Ethic Board by boldly taking the matter to the Sierra Leone High Court and asking for an injunction to be placed on the SLFA Elective Congress scheduled for Saturday 2nd August, 2025, while Aminata Bangura has gone a step further to appeal the SLFA Ethics Board's decision to the Court of Arbitration and Sports (CAS) in Switzerland and CAS has served SLFA with the Statement Brief.

It could be recalled that the SLFA Ethics Board recently disqualified incumbent SLFA President Thomas Daddy Brima and Ms. Aminata Bangura from contesting the upcoming SLFA Elective Congress in Lungi. Their disqualifications follow findings of forgery, falsification of documents, and ethical breaches that violated the SLFA and FIFA Code of Ethics.

According to the Ethics Board, the two disqualified aspirants woefully failed integrity checks critical to standing for high office in football governance.
Aminata Bangura, the General Manager of SLIFA Football Club, was found to have submitted a police clearance certificate obtained through a proxy, contrary to her sworn statement claiming personal attendance at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). Her conduct was deemed a serious breach of Article 15 of the SLFA Code.

The sitting SLFA President, Thomas Daddy Brima, was similarly found to have failed the integrity test after submitting multiple passports earing inconsistent birthdays and confirming in his interview that he had obtained police clearance certificate in person, which was later proven false.

The Ethics Board expressed concern over the use of false or falsified documents by individuals seeking public office in football, describing it as a fundamental violation of ethics and integrity.
Both disqualified aspirants have been fined NLe5,000 and banned from all football-related activities for one year.

Though the Board affirmed that aggrieved parties may appeal its decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), most stakeholders in the football family are highly disappointed by the decision taken by the two disqualified aspirants to pursue the matter in court and CAS, knowing that there is abundant evidence that could lead to their prosecution should they fail in their appeals.