By Hassan Osman Kargbo
Following the approval of the Southern Arena Stadium in Bo to host the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) football matches ahead of TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup Preliminaries rounds, football loving fans have celebrated the incredible work done by Babadi Kamara the Chairman of Bo Rangers FC.
It could be recalled that CAF has issued a temporary approval to the Southern Arena in the Southern part of Sierra Leone to host the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup preliminary qualifiers involving champions of Sierra Leone, Bo Rangers in the Champions League and East End Lions in the Confederations Cup.
This follows a CAF-mandated pre-inspection and assessment of the 6000 seater Southern Arena stadium in Bo City conducted this past weekend by the Competitions Director at the Sierra Leone Football Association, Sorie Ibrahim Sesay.
This approval of the facility by the continent’s football governing body CAF will see Bo Rangers (The Elephants) play host to their Ivorian counterpart San Pedro in the Champions League and while East End Lions (The Killers) also play host to their Senegalese counterpart AS Jaraaf in the Confederation Cup with both matches scheduled to play between Saturday 17th August and Sunday 18th August, 2024 for the first round of the double legged ties in this year’s CAF first and second tier Interclubs preliminary qualifiers.
In response to the approval, the CEO and owner of the 6,000-seater stadium Babadi Kamara said, “Seeing both the Men’s and Women’s Champions League, and as well as the Confederation Cup qualifiers being played at the Southern Arena is a big plus for the development of the game in the country among others, I built this facility as my token of support towards the development of football in Sierra Leone, and my biggest joy behind constructing this facility will always be, watching the Sierra Leone national teams including Leone Stars play competitive CAF and FIFA matches on turf of the Southern Arena,” he said.
And as a result of this, football fans have been celebrating the great work done by Babadi Kamara and some noted that, the prospective SLFA presidential candidate Babadi Kamara deserves to become SLFA president based on his achievements in the football arena. He is being commended for being the foremost individual that used his own personal funds to establish a mini-stadium which he named – Southern Arena which is the first of its kind in Sierra Leone.
Some fans are saying Babadi Kamara’s performance inside and outside of the football pitch agree and stated that he is considered to have the clout, popularity and energy to take Sierra Leone football to higher heights.
According to Henry Caulker, a football veteran at Shell, who has been closely following the SLFA politics said: “I am quite sure that Babadi Kamara will make a very good SLFA President. He has not only proved his benevolent and love to improve the lives of ordinary people, but he has demonstrated that he has passion for the growth of football in Sierra Leone by building the first of its kind mini stadium in Bo, called the Southern Arena.”
As Executive Chairman of Bo Rangers Football Club which was founded in 1954, under Babadi Kamara’s watch, Bo Rangers emerged winners of the Sierra Leone Premier League three times in a row.
As the current Executive Chairman of Bo Rangers, he provides strategic leadership and guidance in all matters regarding the progress of Bo Rangers. He is the only Executive Chairman who has built the first-ever football club house and club secretariat in Sierra Leone.
He started providing leadership for Bo Rangers; he is being mooted as the only person who has the clout and managerial experience and financial strength to personally handle football affairs in Sierra Leone. It is against this background that many Sierra Leoneans are of the opinion that with a man like Babadi Kamara, football in Sierra Leone would go to extraordinary height if he is given the opportunity to serve as SLFA President.
Another close watcher of Babadi Kamara’s passion for football is Musa Tucker, a business man at Wellington Street in Freetown and he says: “As far as I am concerned, I believe in Babadi Kamara because he has not only supporting football, but he has been at the forefront of supporting our footballers at the international stage.”
One other football fan, Melissa Bangura who resides at Rock Lane in Freetown had this to say: “Babadi Kamara will make a very good SLFA President if he is given the opportunity. I like him because he has been very particular about promoting female football in Sierra Leone, and I want to believe that when he is elected SLFA President, female football will grow more than ever before in the history of this country.”
