In a statement issued last week, Isha Johansen, the president of the Sierra Leone FA, reaffirmed her desire to “develop a footballing nation and culture free of poor administration, corruption, third party interference, vested interests and historic loyalties.”
In the days that followed Africa’s only female FA president – and one of only two in the world – was subjected to an unprecedented attack by forces linked to the nation’s government.
At the end of last week the National Sports Council, which should not interfere with a national federation as per Fifa statute 17, moved to dissolve Johansen’s executive board and install its own committee, fronted by head of state Ernest Bai Koroma.
The tensions allegedly led to violence and threats towards members of the Sierra Leone FA, as claimed to Goal by a source close to the situation.
“Isha Johansen has been under attack by the government for most of her presidency,” Goal’s insider said. “She came in with an agenda of good governance in the sport in Sierra Leone. Implementing those changes has been met with constant opposition.
“Over the last few weeks the opposition from the government and other ’stakeholders' to her presidency has intensified.”
The NSC’s decision is the latest incident in a long stream of actions against Johansen and has been linked to a “number of prominent people in the country” with ulterior motives in breaking up the SLFA ahead of an upcoming match-fixing enquiry.
“(Johansen) has spearheaded a campaign against match fixing in Sierra Leone. Fifa conducted an investigation into the match-fixing issue and accumulated the evidence.”
Our whistleblower understands that this campaign against match fixing is one of the key motivations driving the move to undermine Johansen’s authority.
ERNEST BAI KOROMA | The 62-year-old has been Sierra Leone's president since 2007
“We believe that the match fixing commission will embarrass a number of prominent people in the country and that there is pressure from them to kill the enquiry.”
While the political landscape has been tortured since Johansen rose to power, the situation has become increasingly menacing over the past few days, with our source revealing a plot of government-backed violence and chaos instigated to undermine and intimidate the president and her supporters.
“It’s been a terrible couple of weeks of persecution, physical attacks, verbal abuse and threats,” the source revealed, outlining the extent of intimidation aimed at Johansen and her supporters over the last month.
“A few weeks ago, government-sponsored thugs ambushed and beat up employees of the Sierra Leone Football Association who were conducting a Fifa-approved delegate-regularisation process. The thugs actually said they were acting on behalf of the Minister of Sports.
“The SLFA issued a lifetime ban on the perpetrators-who were, in the most part, unofficial representatives of various football clubs in Sierra Leone, but the police refused protection and the SLFA has had to hire its own security to protect the headquarters against threats of attack.
“On Thursday evening another group of government thugs and police descended on the SLFA headquarters, insisting that they be cleared, and immediately arresting some of the staff, including Isha’s PA. They remain in detention.
“The police have locked the SLFA’s headquarters and are refusing entry to any of the association staff.”
This is not the first time that Johansen, who was appointed President of the Sierra Leone FA in August 2013, has faced challenges to her leadership.
In December 2014, during the Ebola crisis, officials attempted to set up an interim body to run the nation’s football, essentially attempting to undermine Johansen’s role and supersede her own committee.
This act prompted criticism from Johansen herself, who insisted that the move was illegal and urged her compatriots and her government to intervene.
“A year and half of Ebola was an additional and significant challenge,” the source continued. “Nevertheless, (Johansen) kept the national team playing at great personal cost. The government ceased funding the national team, but instead of accepting defeat, Isha leveraged her professional networks and standing to ensure that Sierra Leone was able to continue participating in the Africa Cup of Nations and the Olympic qualifiers.
The NSA’s latest apparent attempts to undermine the president’s regime have prompted a response by Fifa, who have insisted that the government rescind its decision to disband the FA, as it directly convenes the world football governing body’s ruling against national governments interfering in footballing affairs as per the aforementioned statute 17.
However, the NSC defended its choice, insisting that it only acted after the SLFA itself dissolved a committee set up in conjunction with Fifa, a committee which had been tasked with identifying candidates to stand for election at the association’s next congress.
The NSC’s decision could also lead to a Fifa ban on Sierra Leone, but the Koroma-backed committee insisted that the move to replace the FA’s executive board with its own approved committee is legitimate.
Johansen’s supporters have also been vocal in their criticism. Brima Mazola Kamara, Johansen’s deputy, told the BBC that the NSC’s decision was ‘baseless’, and reaffirmed the authority of her own committee.
Who is Isha Johansen?
Johansen grew up in England and Sierra Leone, completing her education as she moved between the two countries. Her father cofounded East End Lions FC, one of the nation’s most well-known clubs, while Johansen herself started the eponymous Johansen FC side to provide children playing football in the streets with an environment to hone their talents.
However, her stint as SLFA President has been troubled from the off, when she won the election unopposed after two rival candidates, former Inter striker Mohamed Kallon - a national hero - and businessman Rodney Michael, were ruled ineligible.
Johansen herself has previously expressed conviction that the prejudice and persecution she has faced is to do with her gender, rather than her work within the game.
“I used to think that some of the attacks that I had was because of my zero tolerance on corruption,” she told The Guardian in January, “but I’m beginning to realise it is because I am a woman.”
According to Goal’s source, Johansen remains “committed to her vision of good governance in Sierra Leone’s football industry and to her belief that Sierra Leone has the potential to be a significant footballing nation in Africa,” but has admitted that while the president has another two years of her presidency to run, she can “only see the present situation escalating.”
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