The Sierra Leone Boxing Association (SLBA) has successfully concluded a week-long International Technical Coaching Course, Level 1, held at the OlympAfrica Centre in Goderich, Freetown.
The course, which ended on Wednesday, September 16, was organised by the SLBA in partnership with the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone (NOC-SLE), with support from Olympic Solidarity and World Boxing.
The continental technical course brought together coaches and youth boxers from six African countries, including Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Seychelles, Somalia, Namibia and Togo. Coaches from the participating countries attended with their youth boxers who have already qualified for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
The participating youth boxers underwent technical assessment conducted by Irish-born international boxing instructor William Brereton as part of preparations for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games.
The week-long programme concluded with the official certification of all participants who successfully completed the course.
A total of 33 local and international coaches from Sierra Leone and the five participating African countries were officially certified at the end of the training.
During the closing ceremony, the SLBA reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening coaching standards in boxing and announced that coaches without a Level 1 Coaching Licence will not be permitted to coach any boxing club or region.
The association also expressed appreciation to the National Sports Authority (NSA), National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone (NOC-SLE) and the Ministry of Sports (MOS) for their participation and support during the opening and closing ceremonies.
The successful completion of the course marks another step towards improving technical capacity and professional coaching standards within boxing in Sierra Leone and across the participating African countries.
