African Sports Monthly International Women's Day Special Edition | Page 18
Help in the facilitation of athletes and officials acquainting themselves with the recent rules and
techniques of the disciplines they belong to
Government must ensure that our country obliges to our international commitments such as, assist
national federation pay their affiliation fees to their international and continental federations. All
federation must participate at least in the continental or world championship as stipulated in their
regulations, the Ministry and the National Sports Council must seek support from business houses
and other stakeholders for the sustainable development of sports in the country and priorities
should be given to grassroots sports, communities, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the
country and transparency should be a must when it comes to the selection of athletes and officials to
represent our country in international events.
ASM: - A lot of young sports men and women would look at your appointment as a ray of hope for better
conditions and an improved sports landscape in the country being that you are very young and obviously very
athletic and much in touch with current trends in sports internationally, what do you have to say to them?
Bangura:
Experience, exposure and humility are important in life but most of all is self-determination and tolerance.
One thing I want to make clear is that nothing greater can ever be achieved without enthusiasm. My advice
to every sports men and women in the country is to develop a strong sense of purpose, reasons and the
passion to overcome future challenges. We can as a team work together for the betterment of sports in the
country, my office is open to dialogue the way forward as long as we are heading in the right direction for the
development of sports in the country. I would also advise those who want to use sports for their own selfish
benefit to desist from such as I am determined to give zero tolerance to corruption and manipulations. A
conducive environment is my key priority as this will help to motivate our athletes with the capacity to bring
laurels to the shores of our land.
ASM: - In the last couple decades Sierra Leone lost a significant number of its population to migration due to
the Civil war and other reasons. Those who left have had children in other lands that identify themselves with
the country and would like to compete for it on the international stage, what is your Diaspora strategy in
harnessing these overseas based athletes who obviously train in better conditions and could potentially lift
and improve the sports image of Sierra Leone:
Bangura:
This is very important for the country to have an open door policy that will enable athletes that are born
overseas from Sierra Leonean parents with the enthusiasm to represent their mothers-land to be given the
opportunity to be part of our sporting family. Being a victim of the same circumstances with children born
overseas, I have an open invitation to all the children of Sierra Leone origin to feel free to contact the
relevant authorities in Sierra Leone and our diplomatic missions abroad to express their desire and
determination to be part of our team, but we must also understand that verification will be carried out to
ascertain eligibility.