Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The President of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), Thomas Daddy Brima, is facing criticism after admitting on national television that money meant for football development was allegedly used to pay for government officials and parliamentarians who traveled to Guinea for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Brima said that funds from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which are supposed to support football activities, were spent because the government did not provide a budget for the officials’ trip.
This admission has raised concerns about how the funds were managed. FIFA’s rules clearly state that money given to football associations must only be spent on football-related activities such as building infrastructure, training young players, running competitions, and improving technical skills. Using the money for anything else, especially to cover travel for government officials, goes against FIFA and CAF regulations.
FIFA requires all spending to be approved beforehand, well documented, and focused on football development. If these rules are broken, it could lead to penalties, loss of funding, or other disciplinary steps.
In Sierra Leone, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has started looking into the SLFA’s finances. Brima is being investigated over allegations of misusing more than $720,000. There are reports of money allegedly being transferred to his personal bank account and contracts given out without following the right process.
Some football officials say that using CAF funds to pay for government travel could hurt the trust in how football is run in the country.
As the investigation continues, many are calling for the SLFA to be more transparent. They say the money should be used only to help football grow and not for other purposes.
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